


In the Face of our Lies

by ainsusyaga



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Romance, What Have I Done, holy shit i have no idea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-05-29 06:26:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6363118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ainsusyaga/pseuds/ainsusyaga
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette finds herself getting closer to the unlucky-side of the fantastic duo than she ever wished for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever Miraculous Ladybug story so I hope you enjoy! I'm aware that this first chapter is very short, but I was planning on using this chapter as more of a prologue leading into the main events that will happen so stay tuned!

Marinette stumbled over her feet.

_panting,_

Her shoulders rose and fell with every staggered breath she took.

_crying,_

Her fists were clenched.

_Tikki..._

Her jaw was locked.

_Adrien..._

The rain fell like sharp needles on her fragile features.

_Chat Noir..._

Her body collapsed onto a wall she was never aware of. Unable to pull herself back up, she slumped down with a broken sob.

_Save me._

 

* * *

 

 

Humming a tune, Marinette danced across the kitchen as her custard cream-filled piping back was dangerously close to spurting all over the walls. She wasn't scared, though. She was a  _professional_. Or as close to professional she can be by helping her parents out with the bakery. She quickly grabbed a  _choux a la creme_ and effortlessly filled it then went on to fill another one. After years of practice and an unlikely encounter with a lucky ladybug, Marinette had finally been able to help out in her parent's bakery without problem.

Smiling to herself, Marinette remembered the time before she had met Tikki. Everyday was filled with tipping over mixing bowls and possibly risking a few lives with her clumsiness.

Tikki's head popped out from Marinette's purse and alerted her, "Marinette, you have to hurry! School starts in ten minutes!" Marinette's eyes opened wide after stole a glance at the clock hung above the oven. She dropped the piping bag into a cooling bin and hastily scribbled a note for her parents to read after they'd eventually discover that their daughter was gone. After eyeing the clock a second time, Marinette rinsed her hands, threw off her apron, and grabbed her purse a bit roughly than she needed to.

"Ow!" Tikki complained. Marinette gave the kwami an apologetic smile before dashing out of the door.

Thanks to Marinette's long legs, she was able to speed walk quickly and gracefully as she dodged busy civilians. 

With that thought in mine, Marinette's confidence shot up. Speeding up her pace, a new type of adrenaline rushed through her veins. The type she only felt when she was Ladybug and doing what Ladybug did best. Jump across buildings and swing from her yo-yo. Although her confidence as the spotted heroine was completely different when she was a civilian, her new duty had successfully made Marinette more braver than she could ever dream of being. 

"Marinette," Tikki whispered. "You have five minutes left!"

"Ooh, don't worry about it, Tikki. I'll make it." Tikki noticed a rather  _Chat-_ like grin on her face, forcing a sigh on her part. She hoped Chat Noir wasn't suddenly getting to her now. 

As Tikki had suspected right from the start, Marinette collided with another body with such force that threw her off balance. She groaned. Fate probably wanted her to bite back her words. Such confidence was meant for Ladybug and Chat Noir.  _Exclusively for them._

"Ah, Marinette, are you okay?"

When Marinette heard that voice, she wanted to laugh at fate for failing miserably at what was supposed to be karma. That voice of the boy who sat in front of her in every single class, every single day. The voice of the boy whose face was plastered all over Marinette's room. The voice of the kindest, most genuine smile Marinette had ever laid eyes on... Adrien Agreste.

"Oh goshes me! I-I mean oh my gosh! Adrien." Marinette stammered. She wished with all her might that she would someday throw away that terrible stutter so she would one day have a decent conversation with the super-model. "Adrien." Her heart raced and her ears turned red when his name left her lips. Her own heartbeat brought her back into reality and she continued with her incomprehensible blather. '

"So-sorry I was in my way! I mean-I mean your way! After all, you were in  _my_ way-Oh no, I didn't mean-" She was cut off when the glint of a particular silver ring gleamed in her eyes.

Adrien was  _holding_ his hand out for Marinette to take. In response to the kind gesture, Marinette held out slowly and hesitantly before Adrien grasped it and pulled Marinette up onto her feet.

Marinette's eyes widened as all she could see was Adrien's face getting closer,  _closer_ , but Marinette was already on her heels when she bell rang, resulting in red covering Marinette's face all the way down to her neck. How long had she been sitting there for five minutes to have passed already? How long was Adrien staring at her with his hand out, waiting for her to grab it?

"I guess we should hurry before Mme. Mendeleiv gets angrier." Adrien flashed another one of his heart-stopping smiles and started for the classroom.

Marinette blinked back to reality and let out a strangled version of "Okay" before running after the blonde, green-eyed beauty.

 

* * *

 

 

Nino nudged Adrien with a mischievous smirk. "Soo, Adrien.  _Adrien Agreste_." Adrien was taken aback by his friend's behavior leaning back with a smile.

"Yeah?" Adrien replied, more so to hear what strange thing Nino had to say.

Nino's eyebrows wriggled. "You were late." Adrien thought back to earlier that morning. Yeah, he was late. What exactly did Nino have to say about his tardiness? Seeing the 'and so?' look on Adrien's face, Nino continued. "You were late with Marinette. Dupain. Cheng." As he whispered Marinette's full name, his eyebrows rose and fell with every syllable.

"What?" Adrien shrugged. He thought for a moment before realizing Nino's true intent. "You think... Marinette? And me?" Adrien shook his head quickly but good-naturedly. "No way! What are you even thinking?" Nino gave the taller blonde a pitiful sigh.

"Just figure it out already, man." Nino shook his head and turned to Mme. Mendeleiv, his full attention suddenly on her. Adrien knew he wouldn't be able to get any answers out of Nino, so he pushed the thought far back in his mind.

 

The bell rang and immediately, a scream was heard from the auditorium. Adrien and Marinette's senses were turned on and they both quickly stuffed their books into their bags. After both making excuses to their best friends, they ran out of the room, unaware that one was following the other. 

Marinette hid behind a pillar and transformed while Adrien jumped off the stairs and transformed behind the staircase. Both Ladybug and Chat Noir jumped out, staring at each other with looks that said, "Why are  _you_ here?" Ladybug jumped from the second floor and landed right beside Chat Noir. 

"My Lady, it's always a pleasure to lay my eyes on your beautiful face." Chat Noir picked up her hand and lowered his face to land a kiss when another scream shook his ears. Ladybug took her hand back and pointed outside.

"No time for playing around,  _mon minou_ , the akuma's outside." She dashed out with Chat Noir trailing behind, more than happy to oblige in her wishes. 

As Ladybug neared the root of the problem, her eyes widened and her mouth opened so much it almost split. "Well, isn't that a  _cat-_ tastrophe?" Chat Noir exclaimed as he came up beside her.

Ladybug groaned. "No time for puns, Chat Noir. This kitty is terrorizing the students." She looked up again at the almost sixteen foot-tall kitten. She recognized that cat as one who occasionally roamed the campus freely and was friendly with the students. Why it had suddenly akumatized was beyond her. Unless... "This kitty is after someone. I bet someone kicked it for roaming the campus." She eyed the cat who was currently napping without a problem. Once said person comes out, Ladybug and Chat don't know what they'll face.

Chat's eyes looked upon Ladybug lovingly. Her intelligence and calm-mindedness was what had attracted him to her so strongly. But now he couldn't find a reason  _not_ to like her. He reached a gloved claw out at her when an angry growl emitted from Catastrophe's throat. Ladybug and Chat immediately threw a look a the school entrance only to see Chloe and Sabrina walking out. 

Ladybug's face was tarnished with an annoyed pout. Of course it was Chloe. Of course Chloe was the one that kicked the cat and made it angry. Of  _course_ Chloe was the root of all of Paris's problems. "Chat, delay Catastrophe. I'll bring Chloe somewhere safe." Trying not to cringe, Ladybug had long ago decided not to place her civilian's problems with her superhero duties. Chat seemed to be thoroughly impressed with the change in Ladybug's act.  _That's why I love her._ He saluted the spotted heroine and ran off towards the Catastrophe. Elongating his baton, he busied the cat by tapping it and running around to tap it somewhere else. It was basically all playtime for that  _minou._

"Chloe," Ladybug landed in front of Chloe and gripped her wrist. "Let's go....." Ladybug thought about Chloe's reactions to certain situations. Having dealt with her a number of times during akuma attacks, Ladybug thinks she might finally have a grasp on how to deal with Chloe. "Let's hang out. At your house. And take lots and lots of pictures." Ladybug gave the two a show-stopping smile, which went up to her eyes, looking just as pained as her smile.

Chloe, thankfully, was absolutely ecstatic to be able to hang out with her favorite superhero. Not waiting for an answer, Ladybug grabbed Chloe by the waist and threw her yo-yo at some nearby building. Flashing a smile at Sabrina, Ladybug tugged at the yo-yo and flew off. 

As Chat dealt with the kitty, he found himself not tiring at the least. If anything, he thought the kitty was very  _cute._ Up until it saw Ladybug fly off with Chloe, the Catastrophe's hair stood on end and it bared it's fangs. "Oh, no, no, no little kitty, let's stay here and play." Seeming to be infatuated with the black cat, the Catastrophe rolled onto it's back while Chat rubbed it's belly with the end of his baton.  _Hurry, My Lady_.

 

"Geez! Could you maybe  _slow down_?" Chloe complained. "Look what the wind is doing to my hair!" She gripped the sides of her head in despair and horror. 

"Well maybe you should try a hairstyle that doesn't mess up so easily." Ladybug muttered. Thankfully, Chloe didn't hear her.

Chloe picked at her nails. "Anyways, I can't believe that  _wench_ ran off with  _my_ Adrien." she scoffed.

Ladybug's ears perked and she felt the sudden need to loosen her grip around the girl's waist. "Marinette Cheng!" Chloe rose her arms as if it were obvious. "Right after the bell rang the ran out the door with my man! As if I didn't make it obvious enough that he was mine." Ladybug scowled at the girl but then wondered, why did Adrien leave with Marinette? Why was it that after he heard the scream, he packed up quickly and made an excuse to leave, just as she did? Could it be that... Ladybug shook her head. Of course not. There's no way someone with manners like Adrien could be a flirt like Chat Noir.

As she was in thought, Chloe continued. "Everyone knows that Adrien and I are basically a thing, anyways. Just like how everyone already knows that Marinette has a thing for Adrien. As if someone of his class would ever get together with the daughter of a  _baker_." Ladybug's face and sight turned red. Not only had she unknowingly rattled off to a stranger about Marinette, but she had ridiculed that Marinette's parents.  _Thanks for telling me everyone in the entire school knows about my extreme infatuation with Adrien_. But she couldn't get too mad at Chloe. It was true. A middle-class girl like her could never become close to the ultra-star Adrien Agreste.

Not saying a word, Ladybug kept her cool before dropping Chloe on her balcony. "Ow! Watch it!" 

Ladybug stood on the ledge. "Sorry, Chloe. Looks like my schedule's been filled up. I've got more  _important_ things to deal with." Ladybug muttered the last part and  left to reunite with her partner, ignoring Chloe's cries in protest.

She landed next to the Catastrophe and threw her yo-yo into the air. 

"Lucky Charm!"

 

Ladybug and Chat Noir had successfully de-akumatized the cat and had watched it bound away into the bushes. Chat looked at Ladybug with his fist held out. Grinning, Ladybug did the same.

"Pound it!"

Ladybug's earring beeped and she was alerted of only five-minutes left in her transformation. She saluted Chat and almost left when Chat gripped her wrist, an un-Chat-like look on his face. His face of sadness and desperation, which Ladybug had seen before. "My Lady, please..." Ladybug shook her head slowly and slid Chat's hand off of hers.

"I'm sorry,  _mon minou."_ Chat's heart ached with the nickname she had given to him. "I still think this secret should also be a secret between us." And with those last words, Ladybug flew off again, leaving an empty hole in Chat's heart.

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

Marinette found herself in a situation she'd never thought of before. Her, on her balcony, talking to, who exactly? Chat Noir, who had claimed to 'be walking by' when he saw her house. In the dead of night. She remembered the first and last time she had come across Chat Noir as Marinette Dupain-Cheng. It was needed to be able to fight against the Evillustrator. Never before had she ever thought that she'd see him again like this.

But there he was, clad in a skin-tight bodysuit, basically for the whole of Paris to see him. Marinette could only imagine what people would say when they saw this.  _Chat Noir and mystery girl seen on balcony. Who is this mysterious girl, and what happened to Ladybug?_ She was only glad that he had come at night and not during the day. But this way, she had to squint her eyes to take a good look at him.

"Hi, Marinette. It's nice to be in your presence again." Chat smirked and bowed, right leg over left leg; right arm extended and positioned over his belly. He curtsied like so, making Marinette wonder even more,  _why is Chat Noir here?_

Marinette found herself acting just as she did before. "Oh, Chat Noir!" She swooned. "You're so amazing and cool and to think you'd be here, in front of my eyes! My heart can barely take it!" Despite her bad acting, Chat Noir took every single compliment and made it into his entire being. No, every single compliment  _was_ his entire being. "But why isn't Ladybug with you? You're her most dependent partner!" Marinette found herself wanting to laugh harder with each compliment she gave him. It was funny treating him two different ways considering her two different personas.

Chat Noir shook her off. "Ooh, Ladybug. As much as I know she needs me, she can fend for herself. Just as I can also fend for myself." Marinette crushed her eyebrows together. For what reason would Chat Noir need her?

Chat thought of Marinette's company as comforting and relaxing. In fact, it was just like hanging our with another Ladybug! Except Marinette seemed to respect his abilities more than Ladybug did. There was less teasing, and there was more of  _Chat Noir_. He wasn't usually as narcissistic, but that's what transforming led him to become. Adrien was polite, knew how to use his mannerisms, and was very modest. While Chat Noir was Adrien with the freedom he never had. Chat Noir was the freedom that Adrien wished he was. Marinette didn't know, so she had only thought of Chat Noir as the superhero that likes himself a bit too much among people.

Marinette hoped it didn't seem like she hated Chat Noir, however. She liked Chat Noir. Not only was he dependable, but he was kind and had a good heart. Although, he's quick to act, but that's why Ladybug is always there to help him.

Which is precisely why Marinette was worried. 

"Are you sure you can be here without Ladybug around?" Marinette asked. First, cautious that Alya would come by any second and get suspicious as to why Chat Noir was talking to the normal citizen Marinette Dupain-Cheng, which was highly unlikely considering you can't see a light but the Eiffel tower in the whole entire city of Paris. And second, she was worried about what Chat Noir would do without someone level headed like Ladybug around.

He only scoffed, waving his claws in front of his face as if that question were just an unpleasant smell that needed to  _leave_. 

"Then..." Marinette slowly asked the question. "Why are you here?" Chat Noir stood at alert, then relaxing and placing an awkward arm around his neck.

"Well, honestly," Chat Noir revealed quietly. "I was stuck at home and was bored. So... That's why I'm out in the open like this." Marinette wanted to scold him for doing that, but she couldn't, as it would be hypocritical. She had also found herself transforming just so she could bound across the buildings to relief everything she had pent up inside her.

"You couldn't leave home as yourself?" She instead asked. Aside from his recklessness, maybe Chat Noir had a lot of things going on at home. The transformation could change you. Marinette knew that for a fact.

Chat Noir pursed his lips, shaking his head. Of course he didn't want to talk about it. Marinette groaned inwardly. Marinette is basically a stranger to Chat Noir. But to her surprise he actually went on. "Things aren't very good back at home, so I don't have much freedom." Marinette couldn't find her words. He had confided in her. Although just a little, Chat Noir had confided in Marinette, not Ladybug. Although this certain fact would bring her closer to who Chat Noir actually, was, she felt happy and proud that her company could be somewhat of a relief to Chat Noir, who, in her opinion, was basically in love with Ladybug.

"Why are you telling me this?" Marinette asked, her voice not above a whisper. Chat didn't answer immediately, but Marinette could barely see his presence move closer to her, enough that she could feel the heat radiating off his skin. He hummed a long note that seemed more like an "I don't know." Either way, Chat Noir seemed to need someone to talk to. And Chat Noir could only do this as Chat Noir.

He took another small step towards her and as he did that, Marinette could swear the Eiffel Tower grew brighter to illuminate Chat's features. But what she saw, she wished she would never have to see again. Chat, who was always seen with a smile or a smirk or a grin, was here, eyes closed with small tears silently falling down his cheeks. Marinette couldn't stop herself. She raised a hand and rested it against Chat Noir's cheek, who in turn rested his hand on hers. He leaned into her touch, then breaking out into small sobs as he gripped Marinette's small hand with his big one.

"Oh, Chat." Marinette took her hand away slowly, watching Chat Noir as the loneliness in his eyes wavered. She then, even slower, bring him into a tight hug, gripping him around the waist. 

It was only then that Marinette had a newfound feeling of caring for Chat Noir that she never knew existed. She never thought that she would be here, hugging Chat Noir, whether as Marinette or Ladybug, for the sake of consoling the man. This side was so new, she wanted to make sure she consoled him as best she could just so he wouldn't have to hide it so much. Because it seemed to her that even his civilian persona couldn't talk to anyone about it.

Hands finally wrapped around Marinette's shoulders and pulled her in closer.  _Closer_. Marinette rubbed small reassuring circles on his back, feeling the muscle tense then relax.

He was so  _vulnerable_. 

He was so...  _real._

This is also Chat Noir, Marinette told herself. This is all Chat Noir. 

"It's okay, Chat. Cry all you want." Marinette whispered. "I'm always here."

 

* * *

 

Adrien woke up the next morning wondering if what happened last night was real. Had he really gone to Marinette's house, called her out onto the balcony, then cried in her arms for the rest of the night? 

As if Plagg could read his mind, he grumbled, "Yes, you did. And I lost an hour of sleep because of you." Adrien smiled apologetically and promised him the largest piece of Camembert he had ever seen in his life. Exaggerating, of course, but what else could calm down a drowsy cat?

Adrien went over last night's events countless times in his head before he stood up to get ready for school. Why had he gone to Marinette? Why did he cry in front of her? He had asked himself these questions, but he knew all the answers. Marinette, as opposed to Ladybug, was often seen by Adrien consoling others. The tone in her voice was soft, and motherly, while Ladybug was a woman who took charge and knew exactly what to do and how to do things. It was hard to imagine him, or anyone, going up to her to ask for advice. When he thought about it, Marinette and Ladybug were completely different. But their smile was the exact same.

Adrien nodded and took that as his answer to everything. Of course!  _Motherly_. Marinette was a very motherly person by nature. Anyone could just tell by how she was raised at home. But Adrien didn't have that. At least, his mother had left him as a child. That was why he was drawn to Marinette. As a motherly figure.

Feeling  _right_ , Adrien quickly got ready as Plagg watched him, shaking his head slowly. Oh, how wrong he was.

 

Adrien took a seat at his desk, feeling mildly refreshed. He finally had someone to talk to intimately about his problems. Being about to speak to someone as Chat Noir and knowing that person won't divulge in who he really is was a relief. He finally had someone to go to.

What he didn't know, was that Marinette was behind him with the saddest pair of blue eyes in history. Despite knowing she had done the right thing, she had instead felt like she had  _betrayed_ her love for Adrien. She was positively sure she didn't feel any sort of way for Chat Noir except partner-ly trust. But if Adrien were to ever find out that she had done this, her chances with him were  _ruined_.

She threw her head into her arms and cried, until Alya rubbed her shoulders reassuringly. 

"Don't worry, girl. I totally get you. School's rough, huh?" Alya sighed understandingly. Marinette wished her problems were school related. She was  _sure_ that she'd never be able to look the hero in the eye, as Ladybug or as Marinette. The guilt would eat her inside-out.

"Marinette?" Adrien's voice perked up Marinette's ears and she looked up with a strange pout upon her lips. "I don't know what's wrong, but if you need someone to talk to, you can always come to me." Adrien flashed a kind smile and turned back around.

"U-uh, yeah! You thank, Adrien! I mean, thank you, Adrien! I mean-wait-" Alya cupped her mouth to spare her more embarrassment. 

Alya smiled. "She means thank you." Marinette nodded quickly underneath Alya's hands. "Also, Adrien, I think you should talk to Marinette more, don't you think?" She gave a look to Nino, who nodded in turn.

"Yeah, man. She seems a bit down lately, so you should  _totally_ , uh, communicate more." Nino winked when he said 'communicate' as if it had a deeper meaning than that. Before Marinette could stop her, Alya had scribbled down Marinette's number that she seemed to know by heart just for this occasion. She handed the paper over to Adrien, who took it from her hands in a swift movement.

With a heart-stopping smile, Adrien looked at Marinette. "Thanks. I'll call you whenever I need something, okay?" Marinette nodded, tears almost sprang out of her eyes.  _Adrien Agreste is holding my phone number in his hands_. He thought for a moment before taking her hand into his. Marinette's toes wriggled with the contact. She watched him write his own digits into her palm. "And call me if you have anything to talk about."

He then turned around, a little more pleasant than Marinette had thought. Of course, she already had Adrien's number. She had begged Alya to get it for her, but she never actually called him or texted him. But now that he knows  _for sure_ that she has his number, he might be expecting the poor girl to send him an update every so often. And that would simply make Marinette's heart burst into a million pieces.

Alya nudged her best friend, a triumphant grin on her face. "Good job, right?" she whispered. Marinette nodded help-heartedly. Alya had no idea what was going on.

 

 

Adrien sighed as he stared at Marinette's phone number. He'd somehow wished that he could indulge in Marinette's tight embrace, as Chat Noir had gotten to last night. He had felt  _everything_. He is Chat Noir, after all. But a piece of his heart kept telling him that he wanted to hug her as Adrien Agreste and not Chat Noir. His heart was hurting him. He was so sure that he was in love with Ladybug. Had that all been artificial? Had it been fake? He knew it wasn't. He knew that the rapid heart beats and the ecstasy he felt when he laid eyes on her was real. But why was Marinette pulled into this?

He knew he had some sort of crush for the shy designer, but he was prepared to devote everything for Ladybug.

But then it occurred to him that he didn't even know much about the girl. He only knew  _who_ she was, but then again he didn't. It was the same for her. They knew nothing about each other, but they trusted each other enough to fight together and beat the akumas back into their dens.

With every excuse he put into his mind, Marinette kept popping up in his mind. Her picture pushed Ladybug out of the way as if she didn't matter. And no matter how much Adrien tried to push her back in, Marinette's smile and the feel of her arms around his waist kept making his mind go wild.

Unable to contain himself, he looked at the clock. It was eight o' clock. At night. It'd be okay if Chat Noir made a brief appearance, right?

"Plagg, transform me." Adrien was prepared for any circumstances he was going to face. He wanted to see Marinette. He wanted to see her  _now_. Plagg grumbled as he was sucked into Adrien's ring.

Chat Noir glanced at the darkening sky and grinned. His tail whipped back and forth as he got more excited. Wanting to waste no time, he jumped out the window.

As he jumped and ran on rooftops, he contemplated his feelings. In particular, his feelings for Marinette and Ladybug, and how similar they could be. Towards Chat, Marinette was sassy and real. But with Adrien, Marinette was shy and could barely fit two sentences in. This made him wonder if Marinette had never been fond of Adrien. Even after she made him laugh the day he lent her his umbrella, even after she had entered  _his_ hat contest. What if she didn't really like him at all?

No. None of that mattered. He was going as Chat tonight, and maybe all the other times after that. 

He'd slowed down considerably as he neared Marinette's house. He lifted up the trapdoor above her room and locked eyes with her as she laid on her bed, looking up at the ceiling.

"GAAH!" Marinette screamed. Chat shushed her with a single finger to his lips.  _Come up here_. He motioned as his face disappeared from above. Marinette sighed and lifted herself up onto the balcony, accepting Chat's gentlemanly hand. He pulled her up and she'd ended up face to chest. Feeling her cheeks redden, she jump away as quickly as possibly. As a result, Marinette had almost fallen into the trapdoor again, before Chat had thrown an arm around her waist and kept her still.

They were now face-to-face. Despite the darkness, Chat could count the freckles across Marinette's nose, and Marinette could see Chat's golden hair glow with the light of the Eiffel Tower. "Are you all right, my Lady?" Marinette knew that nickname anywhere. Chat had reserved the name for Ladybug and Ladybug only. Why was he using of all times? And to Marinette, of all people?

Chat seemed to have realized his mistake. "Sorry, I didn't mean to call you that." He helped Marinette back up and took a few steps back, as if cautious and scared that he would scare her.

"Chat, are you okay?" Marinette asked, worried. Last night when he came, he had ended up crying in Marinette's arms. She wouldn't be surprised if he had come again for the same reason.

He grinned. "Yes, I am." Chat placed a hand on her shoulder, warming Marinette from there on. "All thanks to you, Princess." Marinette gasped. The nickname had come from when the Evillustrator had attacked. Chat slid his hand down her arm and grasped her hand ever so gently. "And I am forever in your favor." He kissed her knuckles, resulting in troublesome heartbeats that refused to stay calm.

She was frozen in place, enamored by the black cat, and only seeing him through the light of the Eiffel Tower. "Then," Marinette spoke, and immediately regretted. "Why are you here?"

A frown was evident on Chat Noir's face. "Why? Should I leave?"

"No!" Marinette yelled. Surprised, Chat's frown was replaced by a loving smile. He took another step towards her and engulfed her in a hug. She was again frozen, but she warmed from the the place Chat had nuzzled his head into. He leaned his head onto Marinette's and squeezed her tighter into his chest.

"I came because I wanted to see you so badly." Chat confessed. "Your being has enraged the fire in my heart and I can't make it stop. I had to see you. If I didn't, I'd regret it." Marinette didn't know what to say. She couldn't say anything. 

Marinette instead dug her face into his chest and threw her arms around his waist. "Chat. Chat Noir." She whispered. Another question had left her lips before she could stop herself. "But what about Ladybug?" He didn't know she was Ladybug. She asked despite knowing that the love he gave her that night could leave forever, reminded of the woman he'd been so infatuated with from day one.

Chat sighed, lifting his head and staring right into her eyes. "I love her." Marinette's heart had cracked, small tears sprang from her eyes and she didn't know where they came from. Although they were both her, she wanted Chat Noir to love  _her_. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. "But I don't know anymore." Chat Noir laid a gentle kiss atop her forehead and cheek. "I don't know why you make me feel this way, Marinette. Last night you hugged me and comforted me as I cried. I thought about it all day. I'd dismissed it as motherly love, but not I wish it weren't. Princess, I want your love more than anything." Marinette didn't know where all this came from. One night of comfort and Chat came back claiming her love? She didn't like it.

But she didn't hate it either.

He placed his claws under her chin and brought her eyes up into his. Chat rested his forehead on hers and closed his eyes, taking in her sweet cinnamon-vanilla scent. His heart ached for her, and the thought of not being with her tore it into pieces.

"I thought Ladybug was the one for me. I thought she was perfect. I thought she was amazingly beautiful, smart, and witty." Chat spoke, words like daggers in Marinette's soul. "But last night, when I was feeling so  _down_ , I felt the need to see you again. I didn't think about Ladybug, I wanted to see you, Marinette. You didn't ask questions, and you didn't judge me. You embraced me and held me." Chat's eyes were swimming with emotion, something Marinette or Ladybug had never seen before. 

"Chat..." Marinette couldn't piece any words together. What could she say? How did she even feel? Is Chat implying that he's possibly...

In love with Marinette?

"Princess." Chat spared her any words. "I've met you once. Twice, yesterday, thrice today. But my feelings for you have surpassed any feelings I've had for any person in my life." His eyes closed, followed by Marinette, who didn't so anything but follow his words. "Maybe this is the love I've always wanted."

"Chat Noir." Marinette opened her eyes to see that Chat was already looking at her, searching for any sign that said 'yes' or 'no'. Marinette was having mixed emotions. She loved someone already. But she was also like Chat Noir. Seeing him so invulnerable yesterday and seeing him so honest today gave her a whole new opinion on the superhero. "I don't know what to say. I..."

Her words were stopped short when Chat pressed his lips onto hers, then placing both hands on each side of her face.

 _I love someone else._ Marinette had wanted to say. She wanted to say that she was madly infatuated with a supermodel that would probably never return her feelings back. She wanted to say that whenever she saw this person, she became dumb and her mild goes wild. What was really going through her mind was that as Chat Noir kissed her, she could only think of him. What was really going through her mind was that a part of her also just wanted to be Chat Noir's. And for Chat Noir to be hers.

Tears sprang from Marinette's eyes as she grasped Chat's bell and pulled him closer. A fire burned in her gut. A fire that said she was doing what her heart needed. 

A light gasp fell from Chat's lips as he kissed her more  _deeply_ and with more emotion and feeling that she had seen in her entire lifetime. In return, she had given him the exact same.

Marinette threw both arms around Chat, who, in turn, did the same. Accidentally tripping over a pot, Chat had landed roughly on the ground with Marinette above him breathing just as hard as he was. It was then that their heartbeats were together, beating as one. Marinette's eyes widened, realizing what she had done.

She jumped off of him and backed up, barely falling back into the trapdoor. "Chat, I-" Once again, Chat had stopped her. He walked up to her, chest heaving hard and hair wilder than before. He engulfed Marinette in a tight hug that, no doubt, said  _I love you_. He placed a chaste kiss on her nose and thanked her, jumping off her balcony soon after. 

The only thing embedded into her mind was the tearful smile that shone with the light of the Eiffel Tower.

 

 

* * *

 

Chat groaned, throwing himself on Adrien's bed and de-transforming himself back

Plagg sighed and shook his head, no doubt feeling terribly assaulted by that night's events.

"Adrien," Plagg gave the biggest stink face. "That was _not_ the 'brief visit' you said you'd do."

Adrien felt a bit bad for how he'd went against his word, but at that moment, he didn't regret it at all.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^^ Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reference of Marinette's balcony because it will be mentioned a lot in this story for obvious reasons
> 
> http://tartsblog.tumblr.com/post/137781753605/miracurefladyblog-marinettes-balcony-ref

Marinette had definitely noticed a difference in Chat Noir in the past few days. He hadn't dropped by since that particular  _steamy_ night, but as Ladybug, even the smallest difference perked up some suspicion. 

Although Chat hadn't ceased to call her his 'lady' or 'bugaboo' or the other fantastic nicknames he gave her, he'd stopped kissing her knuckles and eye contact was barely a thing during their  'pound it' sessions after an akuma battle. To be frank, she missed the chemistry they had as Chat Noir and Ladybug. She'd missed the eye contact they had and the understanding without words that they had. She'd missed his  _cat_ -like grin and his flirty wink. 

And that arose was more suspicion in Marinette's heart. Did Chat really love her? Did Chat mean every word he said? Marinette had immediately assumed that he was overreacting when he had basically told her to her face that he  _wasn't in love with Ladybug_ anymore, but thinking it over, was that really true? She repeated the words Chat Noir had said to her that night.

Did he know Marinette as a civilian? Was Chat someone she knew personally? She'd thought of everyone she knew in class. She'd suspected Nathan, but he'd already confessed his love for her as the Evillustrator. Aside from the Evillustrator, that was also the first time Marinette and Chat Noir had met. 

"Stop it!" Marinette whispered harshly at herself and softly slapped her cheek. She'd proceeded to suspect every single person in her class. Girls were out of the question, for obvious reasons, but what of all the guys? 

Groaning, Marinette swept her eyes around them when she remembered that basically everyone in her class had been akumatized except Chloe, Adrien, and herself. She eyed the blonde boy in front of her. Suspicious, she went over their similarities and most of all, their differences.

 _Same blonde hair, same green eyes..._ Marinette had only just noticed how similar their features were. Although it was impossible to match the two faces together, the blonde hair and green eyes was something she couldn't skip over.

 _Chat is definitely more open, Adrien is polite, mannered, calm, respectful, smart, cool, and handsome._ Marinette sighed contently as she went over every single one of Adrien's good traits.  _Not only that, but he's modest, he's kind, and he's not stuck up_. Her nose rose when she was reminded of Chat Noir.  _While Chat Noir is rash, brash, flirty, uncultured, sneaky, and egotistical._ Laughing to herself she threw Adrien back into the bucket. There was no way that he was Chat Noir. He's five times more cooler than Chat Noir, powers or not. Extreme strength or not. Sly smile or not. Marinette was ready to confirm that no one in her classroom was Chat Noir when she'd remembered a certain trait she'd listed under Adrien.

Chat was handsome. Chat was very handsome. The image of his blonde hair glowing with the light of the Eiffel Tower reminded her of the saying, "Every cloud has it's silver lining". Chat Noir did have a silver lining. Under his hard and dark skin-tight suit, he was definitely someone Marinette had never thought to be. 

"Shut up, Marinette." 

Marinette's eyes widened and rose her head up, wondering who would say such a thing when she'd realized those words had come out of her own mouth. And the whole class was staring at her. Her eyes looked around the room to see that every single student was looking at her, including Adrien. He'd stifled a soft melody of laughter and turned back around. Feeling her cheeks redden, she looked down as the class sniggered in response. The only one not sniggering was Alya, who looked at her friend with concerned eyes and Chloe, who had instead gone to cackling at the poor girl, no doubt reminding to herself that she had to 'basically tell the whole world that Marinette Cheng is an idiot'. 

"Marinette." At the call of her name, Marinette brought her head up and locked eyes with Madame Bustier's, who was looking down upon her with stern eyes. "Do you have something to tell to the class?" The kind teacher had said this assuming Marinette had not been paying attention in class at all, which was indeed, what she was doing.

The girl shook her head and gave the teacher a weak smile. "No, Madame. I have nothing to say." Nodding at the student, Madame Bustier continued teaching the class about classical literature while Marinette sighed and rested her forehead on her knuckles. Thinking about Chat Noir would have to wait until later. She could investigate further on her own time. Lunch time.

A soft tap on her shoulder made her turn her head towards Alya, who was leaning in, eyebrows furrowed. "Marinette, babe, are you okay?" She whispered. Marinette shook her head with another one of her weak smiles. Alya was suspicious, and Marinette knew she was in for a lot of questioning later. "Don't think you can hide anything from me, babe. I'm a journalist. I get all the facts on way or another." she muttered, turning her body forward and facing the class. Marinette found herself forcing a lot of deep breaths in order to calm herself down.

She'd have to be able to hide everything from everyone else while being totally occupied to her end in this catastrophe.

 

* * *

 

 

Adrien knew what Marinette was worried about. After all, it was  _him_ who was filling her mind up with strange thoughts and concerns. The  _Chat_ -half of him was satisfied that he mind was full of him while the  _Adrien_ part of him was slightly pitiful and guilty for the girl. It was his fault she was almost reprimanded(Thank God this hadn't happened in Mme Mendeleiv's class) and embarrassed. When he remembered the small snicker he had held in, he knew for sure that he was actually very happy about the situation. Even though he had left Marinette's home in tears, he didn't regret a single part of it. 

He actually didn't really know why he'd cried when he left. He didn't know why his feelings were so obvious but so complicated when he thought about Marinette and Ladybug. He knew he didn't  _not_ love Ladybug anymore, but Marinette seemed to take so much more space in his heart.

"Maybe you shouldn't worry about that." Plagg complained. "Maybe you should think about the terrible situation you made me go through. Maybe you should think about the fact that I was there when you thought all those nasty things that night. Maybe you should think about the fact that she wasn't kissing you, but both of us." Plagg scowled, sweeping himself under Adrien's pillow.

Adrien felt bad for the kwami for having to deal with that, but there's nothing a few pieces of camembert couldn't fix, right? At least for Plagg.

The back of his mind stung. He shouldn't have Plagg deal with the indecent thoughts swimming in Adrien's mind. He'd have to come out clean to both Marinette and Ladybug.

...

But Chat was still allowed to hug her, right?

 

* * *

 

 

"Maybe he does know you as a civilian?" Tikki offered. "Maybe he's seen how kind you are and he fell so  _deeply_ in love with you." Tikki had floated around Marinette's head as suggestions had come up. She'd swooped up as close to Marinette's face as possible as she slurred out the word 'deeply'. 

"Tikki," Marinette sighed, rotating her computer seat. "There's no way you can fall in love with someone so 'deeply' by watching them. As far as I know, Chat Noir couldn't possibly be someone in my class."

" _Marinette,_ " Tikki sighed, just like the way Marinette had just seconds before. "Did you forget? You fell in love with Adrien just by watching him." Marinette's broke out into a panic. 

"Wha-" Marinette stood up abruptly, sending the kwami spiraling into the couch pillows. "What are you talking about? I started liking Adrien when he lent me his umbrella! Because I realized he was much kinder than I expected him to be." She whispered the last part. She wasn't lying, but it wasn't the whole truth. What Tikki had said was actually more of a truth than anything. She had found herself falling more with the model as she watched him carefully after that second encounter.

Tikki floated back up to Marinette. "Don't try to lie to yourself, Marinette. Love comes in all different ways. You don't need to  _know_ someone to love them. You barely know Adrien and you're so infatuated with him!" The words hit Marinette like she was being stoned. Now that she thought about it, she'd be stoned in the past for loving two men.

" _I don't love Chat Noir!_ " Marinette yelled. Tikki's eyes were wide as saucers, staring at Marinette, who'd just opened her eyes after the outburst, mouth hanging and eyebrows positioned as if asking 'are you serious?'. Marinette dropped back into her seat, surprised.

A quiet whisper broke the awkward silence. "Marinette, no one said you're in love with two men." Marinette pursed her lips, banging her head on her desk. "Marinette, you don't have to think so hard about this if you're so terribly broken to pieces." Marinette shook her head, thankful that Tikki was always going to be the supportive friend.

"I'm not, Tikki, I'm not." Marinette assured her, voice muffled. She stared straight into the faux-wood of her desk as it she would eventually be able to reach a conclusion by drilling a hole into it. "Don't worry about it. It'll pass, I'm sure of it."

"Marinette!" 

Marinette's head shot up, calling after her mom, eyeing her kwami to hide in her bag. "Yes, Maman?" 

"Alya's here to see you!"

"I'm in my room!" Marinette swirled her chair around to face the door, readying herself for endless questions on Alya's part.

What she didn't ready herself for was for certain model to pop his face up around the door. The green eyes curved in a smile. "Hi, Marinette." 

Falling back in her chair, Marinette found herself unable to pick herself back up. "A-Adrien!" she rolled off her chair painfully, loudly smacking her legs on the grounds, earning a wince from Adrien. "I thought only Alya was here!" Marinette exclaimed. She was almost surprised that she hadn't appeared by herself, but knowing her very  _out-there_ friend, of course she would bring home Marinette's biggest crush.

"Yeah, well..." Adrien threw an arm over his neck sheepishly. "She was quite worried about you after your... situation in class, so she invited me to come over and check up on you." He took another step in, full body in view for Marinette to bask in his glory. Sensing Marinette's awkwardness, he threw in, just for good measure, "But Nino tagged along, too, if you're still uncomfortable with me." he stepped aside for both Alya and Nino to come into the room, bringing in a plate of cookies.

 _No_ , Marinette wanted to scream and latch onto Adrien with all her might.  _I want you here. Just you. In my room._ Marinette instead smiled and twisted her head to the side as Alya placed the plate on her desk, smile all but innocent.

 

They'd ended up sitting in a circle in Marinette's room telling stories. All the while, Marinette suspiciously eyed Alya knowing her true intent hadn't made itself known yet. Alya never locked eyes with her, laughing heartily at Nino's stories, nudging Adrien, who laughed alone with her.

Maybe that was what Alya was trying to do. Did she want to spike jealousy in Marinette's heart when she saw Alya and Adrien interact?

No way.  _No way._ Alya teased Adrien very often. Actually, she teased everyone. It was in her nature and she knew never to go overboard.

"-inette. Marinette." 

Marinette's senses came back and she threw her head up, locking eyes with a concerned looking Adrien. "Sorry, what did you say, Nino?" she smiled sheepishly. Alya's lips took a form of something Marinette had never seen before.

"As we were  _saying_ ," Alya locked eyes with Nino. "Marinette, have you ever had a boyfriend?"

Where had this come from? Marinette glanced at Adrien, hoping she could somehow avoid this question when her crush was  _right. There._ "Alya, sorry, but can we not-" A look from Alya was all it took for Marinette to know that things would be going Alya's way this night. "... No."

Adrien's eyes shot out. Leaning over, he looked at Marinette. "You've never dated someone?"

Marinette shook her head, forcing her eyes downward, wanting to kick Alya in the face. "N-no, I haven't!" She sputtered. Wanting to seem proud of it, she locked eyes with Adrien only to blush again and look somewhere else, which was Alya, giving her the most amused look she had ever seen.

"Why, Adrien?" Alya asked, the cheshire cat's grin on her face. "Is it surprising?" Marinette sent her a look only to be sent back a look that told her, 'I'm doing you a favor'.

In a way, Marinette actually  _was_ grateful for Alya. Although her actions were not what Marinette had expected, her thoughts were for Marinette. 

"Actually, it is." Adrien said, surprising everyone. "Marinette, I think you're very pretty." As if the angel's horns were blaring, Marinette felt her entire world glow. Adrien Agreste thought she was pretty. 

Nino piped, "Yeah, I actually had the biggest crush on you, too." Alya shot him a look.  _Not the time_. 

Marinette smiled genuinely. "G-geez, Adrien, you don't have to-" 

"No, Marinette." Adrien deadpanned. "You're the most beautiful girl I've laid my eyes on." Rapid heartbeats erupted in Marinette's chest. That was too much to bear. First Chat, now Adrien? Please tell her the past week had been only a dream. "I'm sure the whole world agrees with me."

"U-uh..." Even Alya was starting to feel heat rising in her cheeks. "A-anyways, Marinette, do you have any cool stories to tell? Better yet, do you like anyone?" Marinette groaned. Despite the heat rising in the room, Alya would always find the perfect moment to bring Adrien and Marinette closer.

"I-I..." Marinette's voice drifted off. Should she reveal to Adrien that she indeed had someone she liked? "I do like someone." She nodded. Refusing to look into Adrien's eyes, she didn't get to see the crestfallen look that entered his face.

"Who?" Nino asked, not getting the hint. Adrien almost tapped him just so he could tell him not to go any further, but he, too, wanted to hear what Marinette had to say.

"He's..." Unknowingly, a smile had slid onto Marinette's face. "He's kind, he's handsome, and he has the most golden of hearts." She was listing Adrien from top to bottom, still not reaching his eyes. "Unlike what my first impression of him was, he's actually someone who doesn't even know how much of an effect he had on people." Marinette was suddenly aware of the pictures of model!Adrien plastered all over her walls and was hoping Adrien wouldn't notice.

With every word, Adrien's heart fell more and more until he suddenly found it hard to breath. "What a lucky guy." a smile he'd used in all his modeling photos immediately crept onto his face. Marinette only nodded staring hard at her hands, fiddling with the ends of her nails. "What a lucky guy..." He repeated more to himself.

"Who exactly is this lucky guy?" Alya pressured. Marinette's head raised and locked with Adrien's once again.

"Uh..." Marinette couldn't tell him now. Not this way. "I-I'd rather not say." She pursed her lips and looked elsewhere.

 

* * *

 

 

"Did you hear that, Plagg?" Adrien groaned, throwing himself on his bed. Hugging his pillow to his chest, he sighed. "She already likes someone. Marinette  _likes_ someone and I had to go over her house and let my feelings overcome me and kiss her! I kissed her and hugged her and I  _wanted_ her!" Despair clouded his sight.

"I wanted her so bad I didn't even think of the possibility that she had already liked someone else. I thought her mind was filled with Chat Noir but her guilt must be killing her from the inside." Adrien groaned, "Even though I knew it, I  _liked_ it. I liked that her mind was filled up to the brim with me. But I didn't even know that her heart is already filled with someone else." Plagg watched him from the bedside table. He felt bad for the boy, but instead he smacked him. Hard.

"Adrien Agreste have more confidence." Plagg rolled his eyes. Adrien looked at him in disbelief, pain shooting from the midsection of his back.  _Have more confidence?_ What confidence! He had confidence, and now where was he? "Even if she likes someone, then take her back. Even if she's felling guilty, just kiss her again. I didn't think my chosen was a weak sissy that cried over something so little." Plagg scoffed, his sass level barely pouring over the brim.

"What would Chat do?" 

Adrien groaned again, feeling slightly better. "Maybe. Maybe the guy she likes is a big loser." But knowing Marinette, the guy must've been ultimate perfection. He must've been so  _cool_. " _I'm_ the coolest." Adrien muttered, trying to bring out his inner Chat, his inner freedom. 

Tears clouding his vision, Adrien went to sleep without changing out of his jeans.

 

Marinette stared at the Eiffel Tower. After Alya, Nino, and Adrien had left, Marinette felt the need to move her deck chair on the other side so she could stare into the light. During Ladybug patrols, she had often done this very thing, although more from above a tall building instead of her balcony. She'd admired the light and saw it as a beacon that would protect the city of Paris when darkness took over. She'd also thought about the times she'd see Chat Noir's face differently for the first time.

She made a bold move, before. But the feeling deep in her gut told her that she was only doing that to tell herself that Chat Noir wasn't the one she liked. However, she was so sure that she liked Adrien. She liked him  _a lot_. She liked him so much that she couldn't even speak to him regularly. She could barely get through classes without sneaking a peek at the blonde, just so she could make sure he was okay.

She wished she could transform into Ladybug and do what Chat has whenever he didn't know what to do. She wanted to jump from building to building and feel the rush of being a super heroine with freedom. Marinette imagined her small kwami sleeping soundly beside her pillow and decided against it. Tikki had already done so much for her. She could handle these things as Marinette, and not Ladybug.

"Marinette?"

Heartbeats had become faster and blood cells rushed North. "Ch-Chat?"

"Turn around."

Immediately, Marinette jumped off the chair and looked behind her. Chat Noir was sitting on the window ledge the door to the shop and stared at her forlornly, with a sad smile. "Chat, why are you here?" He hadn't visited her in three days since the heated kiss. But why had he come back, looking so sad? "Are you okay?" Marinette stepped forward to lean against the railing.

Shaking his head, he lifted a gloved hand. "Stop. I want to talk to you from this distance or I won't be able to control myself." Marinette's face heated again, so she complied and took two safe steps away from the railing, still staring into the green eyes of Chat Noir. He rested his hand back on his knee. Silence ensued until they felt the need to break it.

"So-"

"Um-"

They stared into each other's eyes, waiting for someone to continue.

"Marinette." Chat spoke the name quietly, as if it would break his soul if he said it any other way. "I... I thought about it a lot, and I love you more than I had originally thought." his head tilted as if waiting for something. Acceptance? Or rejection?

"Chat." Marinette whispered the name, as if she didn't know how else to say it. "I also thought about it a lot. I thought about it all day. My best friend's suspicious because I was thinking about  _you_ all day." Chat closed his eyes and clenched his fist. The guilt from before prodded at his soul, but opened his eyes and hardened his gaze, not to waver.

"I couldn't tell her why I was so off today and the days past. I couldn't tell her because I'm supposed to like someone right now. I'm supposed to like this person to the point that whenever I know he's in the room, my heartbeat skyrockets and I can't do anything about it. My fingers shake because I'm so nervous and I can't even speak a sentence to him because I don't know what to say." Marinette sighed. "I  _know_ I like this person. I know that since day one I've been watching this person every single day just to make sure he's okay. But I'm so conflicted,  _minou_."

Chat's heart squeezed. "Why, Princess?" Words came from his mouth strangled and raspy. "Why are you so conflicted?" He searched Marinette's face to look for a sign that maybe he still had a chance as Adrien and Chat Noir.

"I'm conflicted because I never thought that while I loved this person," Marinette's voice cracked. "I would love another." Chat watched her eyes, relaxing yet tense. 

"Princess." Chat placed his hand on the cold cement under him, as if he was about to stand, but he stopped himself. "For this black cat, you love him?" Happiness bloomed in his chest. Marinette  _loved_ him. Marinette had responded to his feelings. It was mutual.

"I didn't want to believe it." Marinette spoke, words hard and cold, cutting through the happiness that surrounded Chat. "I didn't want to believe that after only three days of meeting you, I would think about  _holding_ you closer to me than before. Chat Noir, I'm supposed to love  _him."_ Chat now stood up, looking Marinette in the eye. The poor girl was at more of a loss than before.

Chat cracked a smile. "You've _cat_  to be  _kitten_ me right _meow_." Marinette's eyes raised, recognizing this pun anywhere. Ladybug had heard it quite often from Chat Noir, but Marinette didn't think she would hear it  _now_ , in this situation. "You're not  _feline_ well? Do you need a  _purr_ amedic? Or... Me?" Marinette couldn't help it. She laughed, despite the tense air. She laughed, and Chat's ears twitched, listening hard to the melodious ring. 

"You don't seem to have a good grasp on tension,  _mon minou_." Marinette wiped a tear from her cheek, courageously taking a step forward, placing her hands on the railings. "I can't love both, Chat Noir." Chat stood and took a step closer so that his head only reached the top of the rail.

His finger raised and motioned to come closer. Marinette brought her body down so that Chat could rest his hand over Marinette's and raise his lips up to her ears. "If you can't love both, then I'll just have to steal you away." Surprised, Marinette snapped her head back, only to see a sly smile on Chat's face.

"Chat Noir, you-"

She was interrupted by a swift pair of lips, now lying on hers, soft and supple. Chat had kissed her deeper, but it didn't last  _nearly_ as long as Marinette would have liked it to.

A soft  _smack_ was heard when their lips separated. Chat laid his forehead on hers, staring deep into her blue eyes.

"I'll make you mine, Princess."

And with that, he left again, leaving Marinette extremely embarrassed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, the reason why I bring up the Eiffel Tower a lot is because i base it off of this photo
> 
> http://oftherose95.tumblr.com/post/137938838393/this-isnt-exactly-what-the-fandom-meant-when-we
> 
> both tumblr's are amazing and ML themed so you should follow them!


	4. Chapter 4

Rather than the previous guilt that had flooded the depths of Marinette's being, all she could find herself thinking was  _Chat Noir_. She couldn't stop thinking about how pleased he had looked after basically telling him that she liked two guys at the same time, and Chat was definitely not the one she  _wanted_ to become a particular love interest. Then the way he'd stood up, smooth and suave, ushering her closer before laying a clawed hand atop hers, rippling heat throughout her body. And most of all, how he'd leaned in and whispered words that caused Marinette's chest to vibrate, whether in anxiety or satisfaction, she couldn't tell.

Marinette heaved a long, deep breath and frowned, sneaking a peek at Alya. As Alya rambled off about her fantastic Ladyblog, Marinette's eyes subconsciously followed the way her lips moved and curved, thinking to herself,  _I want to kiss him_. Silently shrieking, Marinette slid down the wooden bench Alya and she had often occupied themselves in during lunch breaks. Chat had kissed her last night. Sweet and chaste was it, and it did  _wonders_ to Marinette's entire being. She remembered how the masked hero had licked his lips after they parted and how he  _had_ to throw in a grin that Ladybug used to consider has his  _goofy, characteristic_ grin. She could never think of it the same way anymore.

"Marinette, dear, are you okay?" Creaking open an eye that Marinette was unaware was practically glued shut, she first saw the surprised and interested face of her best friend Alya. What she had not expected to see was a certain pair of boys walking by, no doubt wondering what had caused Marinette to uncharacteristically but unsurprisingly slide out of her seat like Jell-O. 

"Haha!" Marinette stood up, followed by Alya, who turned to see what Marinette had stared at. Quickly, Marinette turned Alya back around to avoid having her friend to start something again. Instead, a hand laid on Alya's shoulder and turned her back around. The journalist looked up at a grinning Nino, who hadn't taken his hand back.

Undisturbed, Alya instead leaned into his touch. "What happened, Marinette?" Nino asked, glancing at Adrien, who turned to Marinette with a smile.

"Nothing!" Marinette shook her head, holding her hands behind her back. "I... Just..." Marinette furrowed her brows at Alya and Nino. "Uhh..."

"What, you didn't tell her?" Nino asked Alya, who  _very uncharacteristically_ blushed and averted her eyes away from Marinette's gaze. "Marinette, Alya and I started dating yesterday." Mouth hanging open, Marinette couldn't believe her ears. Alya, who was usually so  _keen_ on knowing every single secret Marinette had in her, had hid the fact that she had started dating Marinette's crush's best friend?

Biting back her tongue, Marinette kept her mouth shut. As if she wasn't also keeping secrets from the journalist. It'd be hypocritical of her to lash out at Alya for not telling her that fantastic piece of info. "Well... Congratulations, you two. I'm happy for you." Alya's head turned at her friend, worried.

"Marinette, listen, I planned on telling you, but-"

"Alya, don't worry." Marinette assured. She really wasn't angry at Alya for not saying anything earlier. It had only been less than twenty-four hours, after all. It would be petty of her to get angry for a trivial reason like that. Sliding on the best 'Marinette' smile she could bear, Marinette continued, "I'm seriously happy for you two. I've just... not been myself lately." And before Alya could pull her back, Marinette had already started for the school steps.

Adrien patted Nino's shoulder. "I'll talk to her." he said, then ran after Marinette, who was nearing the school steps.

Alya's shoulders drooped. "I wonder if she's really mad because I didn't tell her." She murmured. 

Laughing, Nino rubbed his girlfriend's shoulders comfortingly. "Don't worry about a thing, Alya. We both know she'll be perfectly fine once Adrien talks to her."

 

Marinette had dumped herself on the stairs at the school's entrance. She'd suddenly been overcome with the feelings she held in since becoming Ladybug. Marinette felt bad that she couldn't ever tell Alya that her best friend was actually the super heroine that her own blog was based off of. 

Every time Marinette had to make an excuse for leaving, guilt bit her back later on because she wasn't able to tell Alya these things. Sometimes, becoming a super girl didn't always feel so super.

"Are you okay?"

Marinette's head shot up to see that Adrien was already seated next to her,  _painfully_ close. "Adrien!" _Adrien, Adrien, Adrien,_ Marinette repeated in her head. As she suspected, the name did nothing but make her heart race. "I-I'm fine. I'm all just-I mean alright!" She was stammering again. Blushing madly, Marinette just wanted to dig herself into a hole and rot.

"Marinette, do you remember what I told you yesterday?" Adrien asked. Marinette fumbled and flipped around her brain. What had Adrien told her yesterday? There's no way Marinette would ever have forgotten. "I told you that if you ever need someone to talk to, you can come to me." Marinette mentally slapped herself. How could she ever have forgotten that?  _Chat Noir, that's why._

 _"Adrien_..." Marinette sighed out his name. "You-You're so kind." She could only manage to whisper.

Suddenly flustered, Adrien, laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck as he usually did when he was flustered or embarrassed. "I'm not  _that_..." He let out boyish laughter, bring a smile to Marinette's face. Sensing her eyes on him, he straightened. "Anyways, this is about you, Marinette. Are you okay?"

Marinette had found herself calming down. Perhaps multiple sentences was possible for her, after all. "I'm just a bit down. A lot of stuff has happened in the past few days, and my mind is almost at it's limit." Adrien smiled, understanding. He knew what she meant. He was the one at fault, after all.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Adrien shifted closer to Marinette.

Unable to  _not_ notice, Marinette's eyes were all over the place. "Lately I've been feeling really distrustful." Marinette told him. "I have a sort of... Situation and because of it I have to leave a lot, and that leads to not hanging out with Alya as much as I'd like to. But because of my situation I can't tell her anything about it." 

Adrien nodded, elated that she was comfortable with him. "I've often seen myself in these type of situations, too. There are a lot of times where I have to reschedule plans with Nino because something's come up."

"Modeling?" Marinette asks. Adrien pursed his lips, thinking.

"Not always, but most of the time." he laughed, eyes downcast. "But Nino is a good friend, so even though I feel really bad for canceling, he understands me." Marinette sighed. Alya was a good friend, too. But she was very accustomed to her  _abrasive_ side.

But it was true, after all. Alya had often told Marinette, "Fine, I won't ask anymore. But I'll be here if you wanna 'fess up, okay?"

"Alya's a good friend." Marinette smiled.

Adrien's hand gripped his knees. "But there's something else, isn't there?" he asked, knowing well what that 'something else' was. 

"Well," Marinette hesitated, whether or not she should discuss Chat Noir. "There's this guy..." Her heart pricked but a look from Adrien told her that he wouldn't judge, despite the fact that she was discussing a guy she likes(and hugged and kissed) with the guy that she wanted to like.

"Is he bothering you?" Adrien wanted to know what she thought of Chat and how she felt.

"No! Absolutely not!" Marinette shook her head roughly. Then, realizing her words, she blushed. Even though he had kissed her without her permission (on one occasion) and had appeared on her balcony without notice, she couldn't deny that she had no problem with his visits. "He's a strange character."

"Strange? Who is it?" 

"I can't say..." Even though her head was turned and she wasn't meeting his eyes, Adrien was pleased to see that her ears were a hot red. "But even though he's done a lot, I actually... quite like his company." her head slowly turned back, and she went for staring at her flats.

Adrien hummed. "Do you like him?"

"I used to question it." Marinette told him honestly. "But yes, I do like him. But it's really all jumbled in my mind because I like y-someone else. I know I really like this other person, but the danged  _suspicious character_ ruins confuses me even more!" She was soon rambling, like Adrien was never there. "I could count the amount of times I've met him on one hand.  _Literally!_ Four times, Adrien.  _Four. Times._ But even though it's only been four times, I feel like I know everything about him. Even though I don't know his face and I don't know his backstory, I feel like I know  _so much_. Even though I do. Because..."

"Because?" Adrien cut in, amused. Marinette seemed to have just remembered that he was there. "Because why, Mari?"

Marinette flushed when she noticed the affectionate nickname he gave her. "Because I do. I know him better than anyone else, but he doesn't know it."

Didn't know it? Adrien almost gasped. Did that mean... 

"ADRIEN!" An annoying screech cut into Adrien's thoughts. Both Marinette and Adrien's heads snapped up and turned back. A certain girl with designer clothes, shoes, bags, makeup, and hair ties ran to the pair like lightning. "I was looking for you, but Nino wouldn't tell you where you were!" As if Marinette were a piece of scenery, Chloe's eyes drifted onto her, looking incredibly offended to have Marinette be in her presence.

"What are  _you_ doing here?" Chloe demanded, lips turned into a scowl.

Marinette stood, glaring at her. "Chloe, we're at school." Gesturing to the school grounds, Marinette eyed the blonde when she pointedly flicked her hair over her shoulder 

"She's right, Chloe." Adrien stood, close enough to Marinette that she was incredibly mindful of how their knuckles knocked into each other. "I wanted to talk to her." Chloe seemed to care just enough to drench a cotton ball. She sent an accusatory look to Marinette and roughly wrapped her arms around Adrien's elbow, dragging him off to class.

"Ah, Chloe-"

"Let's go, Adrien! You're too good to hang out with a  _baker's daughter_."

Marinette felt a fire burn in her eyes as she stared after their backs. Oh, how she wanted so badly to push her aside and take Adrien away.

 

* * *

 

 

With Tikki's permission, Marinette had transformed into Ladybug and set off to unleash some stress. She'd transformed in her room and quickly left through the trapdoor, like she was never there.

A figure she never noticed, hidden behind a building across from Marinette's family's bakery had stepped into the street lights.

Chat Noir's heart bloomed. Ladybug  _was_ Marinette. The tiniest of hints had led Chat Noir to this conclusion and he was hoping he wasn't wrong.

He watched her bound away, thankful to the lords, gods, and spirits all over the world. He'd be an utter liar if he said he didn't love Ladybug anymore. But now he didn't have to think about it anymore, because the two women he loved turned out to be the same.

A small laugh left his lips as he glanced at Ladybug once more before hiding within the shadows again. He'd meet her soon.

 

 

A relieved grin was plastered on Ladybug's face after countless roofs flashed past her mind. "Ahh.." A sigh slipped past her lips as she stared at the beacon of light from the roof of a mansion. She hadn't done this in a while, but she definitely saw what was so entrancing and thrilling about it. Other than the usual akuma fights, freely running around with so reservations was stress-relieving.

An image flashed across her eyes. What had happened earlier that day, on the school's steps. Adrien talked to her after she had felt down and left after the interesting confession that Alya and Nino had been dating since last night. Truth be told, she wasn't angry. In her opinion, I'd be strange for anyone to get angry at a reason such at that. It surprised her that Alya would even consider that Marinette was angry because of that. Maybe it was because her condition seemed so bad lately, but there was only one person to blame.

" _My Lady_." 

Ladybug didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Instead, the Marinette inside her caused her heart to slightly race.

"It's been a while,  _mon minou._ " Ladybug smiled, rotating her head on her neck to catch the toothy grin that belonged to the one and only Chat Noir. "Three days, I presume." Ladybug remembered the last time she saw Chat when they were fighting an akuma. It had also been when she first noticed the change in him. 

"No, just one." Chat, without sound, plopped himself down beside Ladybug, his left leg dangling off the edge of the roof. He wrapped his right arm around his right knee, leaning his cheek on it and staring at Ladybug, not a single emotion in his eyes but pure love.

"Chat?" Ladybug didn't know where the sudden change came from. She remembered Chat meeting her for the third time just so he could tell her that he didn't love Ladybug as much as he loved Marinette. "What's wrong?"

Chat smiled, watching Ladybug's eyes wander to his ears which had flattened and his tail that was pleasantly flicking to each side. "Nothing,  _Bugaboo_. I just realized for the millionth time how beautiful you are in the light of our Eiffel Tower." Ladybug blushed, looking away. What had suddenly brought up his behavior? 

"Chat, you're silly." Ladybug rolled her eyes, lifting her own knee to rest her cheek on.

He laughed, brushing aside the silence that hung in the air. " _My Lady_ , surely you don't think I came here just to compliment you?"

"Of course not." Ladybug shook her head. "But why did you come here?" 

"You don't recognize this building?" Chat asked, gesturing around him. "With our fight with Jackady."

Ladybug pursed her lips thoughtfully. The memory made her butterflies race. "Yes, I remember." Oh, she  _remembered_. She remembered nearly walking into Adrien Agreste when he'd decided to take a strangely timed shower. "But what of it?"

"I happen to know the son of the man who owns this building." Chat slipped out his baton, flashing an image of Adrien. "Adrien Agreste."

"Chat." Ladybug narrowed her eyes warningly. "You know how I feel about our identities."

"Don't worry,  _Princess_!" Chat laughed again. "I'm not here for a reveal, I'm here for idle talk." Ladybug didn't say anything else, but her look her awfully suspicious.

"He's a handsome boy, isn't he?" More pictures of model-Adrien passed on the screen of his baton. "Part-time model, full-time prisoner, as I'd like to call him." Sighing, Chat slipped his baton back on his waistband. 

Surprised, Ladybug inquired further. "What do you mean by that?" If she were logical, she wouldn't have asked more. But this was Adrien he was talking about. The boy that had often walked into class with a smile, happy to be there, and had not-so-often walked into class with an empty look in his eyes. 

"He's never gotten to live like other kids his age. He'd only started public school this year after his father's secretary talked his father into letting him go." Chat sighed, looking as if he really pitied the boy. 

 _Of course, I knew that_. Ladybug wanted to say. She remembered that day like the back of her hand. In fact, she still had the malfunctioning umbrella hidden somewhere save in the depths of her room. "And so?"

"He told me that entering school was the best thing that happened to him. He made tons of friends and fell in love with a  _miraculous_ girl." Chat wriggled his eyebrows at Ladybug, who tried for a nonchalant face, as if the discovery hadn't bitten at her heart in the slightest. He instead went on. "He often tells me about her. Smart, beautiful and has a way with her hands. Even though she can't even say a full two sentences when he's around, he only wants to talk to her more and get to know her."

"Yeah?" Ladybug quietly whispered.

Chat lowered his right leg and looked up at the night sky. "He doesn't really talk to her all that much, but he knows that she's an amazing person who's most passionate about the things she loves." Shaking his head, he gave Ladybug a sly look. "Ah, I must be rambling on, right?"

"Maybe just a bit." Ladybug mustered a weak smile, contrasting against Chat Noir's bright grin.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about someone else." Chat grabbed his baton again and showed her another picture. "Recognize her? Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You'd given me the task to protect her when she had a fantastic date with the Evillustrator." Ladybug's eyes narrowed again. Yes, she knew her. It was her.

"Marinette, yes. Cute girl, isn't she?"

"Oh,  _yes._ " Chat swooned. "She's  _adorable_." Ladybug fought back a blush. Hearing that coming straight out of Chat's mouth was embarrassing.

"Why'd you bring her up all of a sudden?" Ladybug asked. "Don't tell me you have a little crush on her?" she teased, brushing back a few hairs that were on her shoulder.

Nodding, Chat smiled. "Yes. A big crush. Actually, more. I think I'm in love." It shouldn't have been a surprise to Ladybug, since he'd shamelessly told her that time they'd also kissed. "Ladybug, I'm in love with her." He repeated, eyes carefully piercing Ladybug's face.

Ladybug laughed, her laugh vibrant, echoing off the tall buildings of Paris. "And so? Did you want advice?"

"Right again,  _Princess_." Chat twirled his baton in his fingers, staring intently into the bright light. "She told me she loves two men. Me being one of them, of course. I'm  _purr_ fect. Anyways, even though she told me that, I can't help feeling like I'm a bother. Sure, I've only come to see her three times after the akuma attack, but I wonder if I'm just being a creep to her."

"I-I'm sure she doesn't think of it that way." Ladybug mustered up, unable to stop herself. Shaking her head, she looked at her feet, rocking back and forth, heels, knocking against the building. "I think she loves you a lot, too." 

"Ahh..." Chat sighed dramatically. "But what about the other man?"

"He-He's just as important! Probably, I mean. But love works wonders." Ladybug assured. "I-She's probably just as confused. She likes both of you, and she can't stop herself from trying to choose between the both of you. Assuming, of course."

Chat smiled lovingly. "But what shall I do? I, too, love two women. Both seem beyond my grasp, however."

"Wha-love two? Chat, you dog!" Ladybug aggressively pushed Chat over. Fortunately, he tucked and rolled so that he was safely away from the edge.

Chat shrugged when he stood up. "But doesn't Marinette?" Ladybug was hit by the truth. He was, in fact, right. Marinette did love two men. It was awfully hypocritical of her react in the way that she did. "Besides, I never said who the other woman was."

"I don't need to know, Chat Noir." Ladybug huffed, also getting up to her feet, turning away.

A presence approached her from behind and pulled her into a warm chest. "You don't need to know how much I love you?" he whispered into her ear. Ladybug tensed and tried to push him away, but his strength was keeping her in place.  _Damn it_. Ladybug was weak. She didn't have the power to fight back.

Instead, she leaned into the touch she'd been waiting for all day. "Isn't the guilt overtaking you?" Ladybug asked, hands gripping the muscular forearms that were splayed across her chest.

"Of course not." Chat whispered again, even closer. "Is there a reason to? They're both the same people, after all." 

"Huh?"

Ladybug felt his warmth slip away. Ready to attack, Ladybug whipped out her yo-yo and flung it behind her, only to meet with thin air. Chat had escaped. How, she had no idea.

It didn't matter, though. Chat knew who she was, and she didn't know whether to be elated or incredibly disappointed in herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for waiting! (For two days)  
> School had started again so I was only able to write half of this yesterday and finish it today. It was still shorter than what I'd prefer, but I hope you really liked it!  
> The next chapter should hopefully get posted on Thursday. If not, Friday. I can't give any specific times just because I happen to be busy with practices and lessons. Thanks for your patience


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> I'd originally planned to write it all tomorrow, but I decided against it and wrote this chapter that came out of me like freaking it was supposed to.   
> I'm incredibly pleased with this chapter and I hope you enjoy it.

Chat Noir hadn't actually disappeared at all. In fact, he'd simply hid behind a chimney large enough to keep him well hidden. He ran away quickly enough to see Ladybug right after she fling her yo-yo in the direction he'd been in. Watching carefully, Chat Noir saw Ladybug stand still, fists clenched. He'd seen the slight movement of her lips before a strong wind had blown right by. Chat didn't have the change to hear what she'd said, but he was still absolutely mesmerized with the way her pigtails blew in the wind and the way she brushed her bangs out of her face.

Ladybug let out a grunt of frustration and soon left the building, in the direction of her family's bakery.

"Plagg, de-transform me." Chat Noir whispered. He felt the strange sensation of his costume being pulled off his body and the usual warm presence beside his right ear. 

Plagg snorted. "You know, you could have told her everything. You already know how she feels about you." Raising his claws as if it were obvious, Plagg rolled his eyes at his partner's idiocy.

A frown made it's way to Adrien's face, eyes rooted to the spot Chat had hugged Ladybug earlier. "How she feels about  _Chat_ , you mean." he hissed. The rippling sensation that went from his heart to his fingertips and back to his cheeks hadn't stopped. Even Chat Noir was close to revealing everything. "I'm afraid of telling her who I am then giving her the disappointment that the Chat Noir she likes is actually me."

"Psh." Plagg nonchalantly shrugged, as if the matter were nothing to worry about. "You  _really_ have nothing to worry about, kid." Adrien snapped his face towards the pitch black kwami who had an unreadable emotion smeared across his face. Adrien parted his lips to ask, but closed them abruptly, turning his head back to Marinette's family's bakery.

"Never mind. I'll figure this all out by myself." Adrien grumbled. He knew Marinette was the only person he wanted to be with any he wanted to figure out his own life by himself. "I'll find out who the other guy is. And I'll take her back." Plagg nodded approvingly. He wasn't going to lie, he had actually thought the boy would freeze up and set his hands down in surrender. The transformation had seemingly done good to the shy, unconfident, clearly not socialized model-boy. He'd finally gotten back the sense of purpose he had lost when his mother left him.

Plagg ruffled Adrien's hair the best he could, settling it down to Chat Noir's signature. "Do what you can, kiddo. Don't mess up." Adrien sensed that this was how Plagg was attempting to comfort him, but it was a sad attempt. However, he took it as it was and smiled, picking up the kwami and nuzzling his cheek into his. "Hey, stop! You smell terrible! Now give me some cheese for all the trouble you've caused me!"

Laughing, Adrien let the kwami go and stood up, letting himself down from the roof. He would see her again. As Marinette and Chat Noir. After that, _oh,_  Adrien had planned things out and he would try his best to go through each plan accordingly. 

 

The next morning, Marinette woke up feeling no more than trash. Her eye bags were darker and her eyes kept drooping from lack of sleep. If she hadn't called Alya over to fix her, she would've risked going to school looking like a bed-monster, and worst of all, having Adrien see her like that.

"Thanks again, Alya." Marinette smiled, dabbing at the foundation applied under her eyes, also struggling to hold back a yawn. Having caught that, Alya ended up yawning, which had lasted quite longer than Marinette had expected.

Waving her off with a closed lipped grin, Alya roughly patted Marinette's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, girl! I've always got your back!"

Smiling, Marinette nodded and glanced at the clock. "Well, let's get going. We don't want to be late." Marinette grabbed her bag and headed over to the stairs that led to the bakery. Alya suspiciously watched Marinette. Something was a bit off about her today....

"Gyah!" Marinette shrieked when she tripped over the leg of her chaise. 

Grinning, Alya also picked her bag and followed her.  _Ah, there it was._

 

"Girls, don't forget this!" Sabine had called out from the kitchen as the girls almost left the shop. They stopped and turned to find that Sabine was quickly, but with small steps, shuffling over to the girls. She raised up a brown paper bag. "I put in some eclairs, canelés and danishes for you girls." Marinette accepted the desserts, surprised.

"Why so sudden, Maman?" Marinette asked.

A small, caring smile graced itself on the small lady's face. "It's been a while since you've visited, Alya. I wanted to suddenly thank you for all you've done for Marinette." Alya laughed, waving her off.

"No such thing, Ma'am." Alya also smiled at the lady, giving her a small side hug. "I'll see you again, but I can't say  _soon_." An accusatory look was sent Marinette's way, who gulped. Alya was definitely getting more suspicious about Marinette's secret-keeping. She expected a lot more questioning followed with a lot of evading.

"Well, we're off, Maman!" Marinette lightly kissed her mother on the cheek, then kissing her fingers and waving at her father in the kitchen. "Papa, I'm leaving!" A grunt was heard from him, and Marinette left with Alya.

"You're mom's such a delight." Alya licked her lips, grabbing for the bag only to have it get whisked away by Marinette, who donned a strict face.

"These are for  _lunch_ , Alya. They're not going to suddenly disappear, you know. You can wait a few hours." Marinette held the bag at the side opposite from Alya and continued to walk, a sulky journalist following after her.

Having her best friend stay beside her kept other  _distracting_ thoughts out of her mind. But thinking of how the distracting thoughts had submersed themselves made them ascend into the lobby of her mind. She found herself thinking again about how Chat Noir knew she was Ladybug and how he seemed annoyingly pleased with the information. How, though, she didn't know. Perhaps she had been extremely obvious and slipped one day? Frustratingly, she could see that happening, as she had let her guard down. She felt so ashamed of herself.

She was relieved that her wish to figure out Chat Noir's real identity hadn't gotten stronger. That meant that at least her mentality was still in check.

"Hey, Marinette, Alya."

Marinette was whisked out of her thoughts. The voice, along with the aura of an anticipating Alya had alerted her at once. She rotated her head to the right, seeing the smiling face of Adrien Agreste peeking out the bulletproof window of his father's limo. "Do you guys need a ride?"

Ignoring Alya, Marinette shook her head with a promise to herself that she would stay modest, and become the ideal- "YES PLEASE THANK YOU!" Slapping her hands to her mouth after the outburst, she watched Adrien's eyes morph into complete shock before morphing back into the kind, genuine smile she knew by heart. Adrien opened the door and slid over the the farther end of the backseat, patting the seat next to him.

"Come on in."

Marinette looked over to Alya as if asking her for permission, only to meet a pair of rolled eyes and get pushed into the car and more importantly, into Adrien's arms. Marinette's pegs were splayed across the whole seat, her chest pressed up against Adrien's and her arms being held in place by his big, strong hands. When she opened her eyes, she'd realized that her face was closer to Adrien's than they had ever been, and she had a greater view of what incredible beauty she hadn't recognized before(not that she didn't think he was incredibly beautiful before).

"Ah..." Marinette's cheeks swelled and reddened when she saw how clear and smooth his face really looked like underneath all the makeup. She knew that all his life, Adrien had been put under bright lights and constant brushing up. But to see how clear and untarnished the skin was really made him more attractive in her eyes.

Her eyes lifted to lock with a green pair, seeing an unreadable emotion in his eyes. 

"Babe, sorry, but could you move? I don't wanna burst your bubble, but I also need a ride, too." Despite the annoyed tone in Alya's voice, Marinette knew she was in for a lot of teasing later on. 

Marinette suddenly felt her legs get pushed off the chair, not knowing what to do when Adrien pulled her body closer to him so that she wouldn't fall. Clearing her throat, Marinette separated from his grip and sat in the middle, painfully aware of how her and Adrien's arms were touching and how she could feel and hear him breathe right next to her. Alya certainly hadn't made it better. She was half sitting on the middle seat Marinette's bottom should've been on, but because of her, Marinette was sharing a seat with Adrien, who didn't seem affected in the slightest.

 

Adrien was secretly very pleased with what Alya had done. From pushing Marinette into his arms to pushing her right next to her, Adrien was allowed to experience these things without having to be Chat Noir. Alya must've known how much he liked Marinette. There was no other reason for her to do that. He didn't know how she found out, but he was thankful.

 

Whether to be thankful or not, Marinette didn't know. All she knew was that her heart was racing and she couldn't speak and she was sitting right next to Adrien Agreste. She was also intruding in on his personal space and most likely making him very uncomfortable. Hopefully Adrien wasn't thinking Marinette was a total  _pest_ for that. 

Adrien awkwardly turned his head towards the window and coughed. "Gorilla, you can go now."

The large man in the driver's seat sniffed, no doubt surprised with the current situation and the bright smile the brown haired girl was giving him without fail. With no words asked, Gorilla leaned his foot on the gas pedal and started for the school.

In no more than five  _agonizingly_ short minutes, they had arrived at school. Gorilla stepped out of his seat and held Alya's door open so she could leave.

"Why, thank you." Alya gave him another bright smile, which had made him severely uncomfortable. A silent thank you then followed as Marinette left after her, not before she bumped her head on the root of the car.

"Ouch!" Marinette pouted.

"Marinette? Are you okay?" Adrien placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. Marinette spat out a few strange letters and gave up, leaving the car. Adrien left without a word, but instead gave a look of recognition to Gorilla, who returned it with a slight bow of the head.

"Well, girls, shall we get going?" Adrien smiled, purposely directing it more towards Marinette, who was also purposely avoiding his eyes.

"ADRIKINS!" A loud, unmistakable voice shrieked from the side of the stairs. No one had to turn their head to see, but they all made the mistake of doing so, anyways. There can Chloe, running, sloppily followed by Sabrina, upturned lips glossed to the max.

Maybe Marinette was describing her lips a bit more harshly than she expected to, but the way she felt looking at Chloe comfortably running into Adrien's arms, smacking a huge kiss upon his cheeks made her blood boil. But the moment she saw Adrien gently push her away, she was immediately calmed, thankfully.

Adrien had successfully pushed Chloe away and looked again at Marinette, repeating, "Shall we get going?" With a quick nod, Marinette and Alya followed the model into the school, meeting up with Nino, who complained, "You guys all came without me? I would've sat on the ground or something, you know..."

Laughter erupted in the group of four, and then, Marinette felt like she was where she truly belonged.

Well, until she came back home.

 

* * *

 

 

The moment Marinette walked into her room, she lifted up the flap of her bag. "Tikki-"

"Nice to see you again,  _Princess_."

Marinette's head snapped up, indeed one-hundred percent not expecting to see Chat Noir during the daytime. In her room, no less, leaning against her desk. Tikki immediately lowered her head and hid deeper in the bag, completely attempting to hide herself from the masked man. "Chat Noir?" She was nervous now. Chat Noir already knew who she was, right? Should she continue to play dumb or should she be completely honest?

As she stared at him, the handsome smirk, widened into a gentle smile that shook every bit of reason inside her. "Seeing you is always worth it." he whispered. As if another thought had suddenly crossed his mind, he turned and picked up a portrait of Adrien Agreste. "Who's this?"

Marinette said, without thinking, "It's Adrien. We talked about him last night. I thought you knew him?" Marinette realized then that any thought of putting up an act and pretending she wasn't Ladybug was never going to work out. Not that she expected it to work out in the first place. "What are you doing here?" Chat Noir chuckled. Every time he visited her, that may have just been the one common thing she asked him. 

"I just wanted to see you."

And just as always, a blush rose up Marinette's cheeks. "Did you 'just want to see me' the other times we met?"

"Yes," Chat responded, as if this were just normal. "Is it wrong to want to see the one I love?" Marinette couldn't find and smart and witty comebacks to that response, because she was too busy swimming in her own happiness. Thankfully, Tikki flew out of her bag and looked face to face with the black mask.

"You're Plagg's chosen?" Tikki asked. Chat watched her float up and down in the air before scratching the bottom of her chin with a gloved claw. 

"Chat Noir, at your service. You must be Little Miss Ladybug." Chat Noir smiled at the red kwami. He suddenly felt Plagg from within him shake and twist around, wanting to be released from the transformation.  _Not yet Plagg, I can't let her see me._ "I'm sorry you can't meet with Plagg right now. You'll see him again... In the future." He said so looking straight into Marinette's eyes. She had only successfully closed the door and locked it so her parent's would barge into a conversation with Chat Noir before she felt a gaze lock onto her.

The feeling of being looked at hit her with a familiar  _pang_. Why was she suddenly-

"Have you found out who I am, yet?" Chat asked, pulling her from her thoughts. "I hope you haven't been putting me aside,  _My Lady_." Marinette wanted to scoff and say she never thought about him throughout the entire day, but that was a lie. When she wasn't looking at Adrien, she managed to keep the thought of Chat Noir away from all parts of her mind. However, any second without him in her line of sight caused a her to have a painful but pleasing reminder that Chat Noir may have been thinking of her just that moment.

"I-I managed the whole day." Marinette coughed out. Damn it. Now Chat Noir knew how hard it is to  _not_ think of him. But then again, he probably already knew anyways. There was no point in trying to hide these things from him.

A pleased smile further lit up Chat's face as he pointed to Adrien's picture. "Why is  _he_ here?"

Marinette cocked her head to the side, trying her very best to seem nonchalant, as if seeing the faces of two men the absolutely adored wasn't anything to worry about. Thank goodness Adrien wasn't here in person. "Why? You're not fond of him?" she asked, taking the picture from his hands and placing it back on the desk as it was before.

"You could say that." Chat sighed, not taking his eyes off the photo. When he did, however, his eyes drifted to every  _other_ picture of him in her room, including her lock screen. "You seem to think differently, though." He looked surprised, but not irritated.

"I'm a designer, Chat." Marinette bluffed. "I need to have many different poses in mind when I make something. I use Adrien because he's closest to me." Thank goodness her Ladybug-side had seeped into her Marinette-self. Also with the help of Tikki, who was by her side--she didn't know when Tikki flew over--she was able to not obviously slip up a lie.

Chuckling, Chat gestured to all the pictures. "These don't look like poses,  _My Lady_." Chat pointed, and sure enough, Marinette realized that every single photo was a face-photo. Only a few had Adrien in his full glory. 

"You don't like Adrien?" Marinette noticed Chat recognize the immediate shift in subject, but he didn't seem at all troubled. What had troubled Marinette was how calm he was with all of those faces plastered on her wall, computer, and desk.

Chat rolled Marinette's chair over and plopped down, crossing his legs, fingering the sewing lines in his suit. "I can't say I hate  _him_ , but I hate everything else." He didn't go further. His eyes narrowed and he'd shifted his gaze over to the trashcan, staring intently. After a long moment, he decided to continue. "He's stuck bound by his father's will. He can't do anything to go against him, but when he does, he doesn't have anyone to back him up."

"He does." Marinette argued. "He has Nino. He has me and Alya, too. In fact, our whole class is willing to fight for him." A strange surge of protectiveness surrounded Marinette and she felt confident, without needing the help of Ladybug or Tikki, who flew away to watch from Marinette's bed above them. 

"Oh, does he?" Chat was touched. When he thought about it, it was true. He knew for a fact that Nino would be there for him. He also knew that Alya would, too. But for Marinette to say, coming from her  _own_ mouth, that she would always fight for him, was touching. "He must be lucky."

The sudden change surprised Marinette. "Wha-I thought you hated him!"

"Did I say that?" Chat asked, feigning ignorance. But after seeing the look on Marinette's face, he immediately dropped the act. "The truth is, Adrien and I are very similar. I hate him because we're so similar. It's only with this whole transformation that I'm able to taste the feeling of running and jumping from roof to roof, you know. Surely you know what I mean?" Marinette did. She felt every single insecurity leave her when she was Ladybug. 

"May I ask you a brief question,  _Princess_?" 

The way he switched nicknames sweetened Marinette's feelings for him. Despite the way she became slightly bitter at him for it, she answered. "You can ask me anything."

"Why are you so willing to fight for Adrien?" Surprised, Marinette couldn't immediately find her answers. "Why are you so willing to say that you'll always back him up even though you hardly know anything about him?"

"I-I-" Marinette found her hands shaking, but she tightened them and decided that she was ready to take the plunge. "I  _don't_ know many things about him. But he's so,  _so_ , genuine. He's kind, he's sweet, and he's smart and so much more." Once she started, she couldn't stop. "He'll walk up to you and ask him what's wrong even if you don't do the same for him. He'll sigh and whine over love letters and he'll worry about you. He-He'll walk up to you and say 'hi' even if he thinks you hate him completely because of a dumb misunderstanding in class, but he won't hesitate to hand you over his umbrella. He'll laugh when the umbrella falls over your face, but you don't care because you just want to laugh with him. Then... Then you'll wish you could be as caring as him when he walks through the rain just so you don't have to." By the time she finished, her head was down, eyes brimming with tears.

Chat suddenly found himself unable to say anything. Had Marinette thought that way about him--Adrien--this whole time? "I know you probably like someone else," Chat whispered, standing from the seat and taking slow steps from Marinette. He turned her body towards the opposite direction and held her there, warmth seeping through her body where he held her arms. "But please, let me hug you as the man I am." Marinette clenched her fists tighter, nodding slowly. The soft whisper of 'Plagg, de-transform me' was heard and a bright green light flashed around her. She hadn't realized that the sun went down already. Daylight savings had come again, just like Chat. Suddenly, and wanting to bring you into a tight hug so you'll never have to wake up again.

Arms wrapped around her shoulders and brought her into their chest and she suddenly realized that the person she was with was no longer Chat Noir, but the person underneath him. The suddenly realized that the person who was shaking in tears behind her was the Chat Noir who was so confident and free. She suddenly realized that the person whose nose was buried in her neck was the person she'd love no matter what. No matter how insecure he is, no matter who he was.

"Chat..." Marinette wanted to turn around and hug him, but settled for gripping the man's forearm just as she did last night, as Chat Noir and Ladybug.

Suddenly, lightning flashed and Marinette jumped away from his arms, surprised. "Marine-" The man behind her immediately realized his mistake and clamped his mouth shut.

But it was too late. Rain came pouring down, small shadows of droplets lit by the moonlight highlighted Marinette's eyes as she slowly turned around. She  _knew_ that voice. She  _knew_ it so well. _It was the voice of the boy that sat in front of her in class every single day. The voice of the boy whose face was plastered all over Marinette's room. The voice of the kindest, most genuine smile she had ever laid eyes on..._

"Adrien?" Marinette turned around fully and saw what she'd expected.  _Chat Noir was Adrien Agreste this whole entire time_. 

Adrien sighed, looking as if he were completely at a loss. He stood up straight, one hand over his eyes, the other held out stretched to her, slowly caving into a regretful fist. "Marinette, I'm sorry it's me. I'm sorry I'm not the one-"

Marinette, fueled only by her strong emotion, grasped his hand, smoothening it out so that their fingers completely entangled with each other. "Chat Noir... Adrien.  _Adrien._ " Marinette could only whisper. "It was you. This whole entire time--it was  _you_ , and I didn't even know?" Marinette wanted to slap herself on the forehead and get herself a dunce cap. But she didn't want to rid away of what was happening now.

"Marinette?" Adrien lowered his hands, hot tears streaming down his cheeks. "Am I-the other-oh my god." Adrien sobbed, kissing Marinette's knuckles and bringing her into a crushing hug. A long overdue hug between two people who loved each other inside and out.

"Adrien." Marinette smiled into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist just like the second time they met. "I hoped it was you. I hoped it was you this whole time. Adrien." She said the name with such feeling that Adrien whispered in her ear:

"Say it again,  _My Lady_. Say my name again."

"Adrien, Adrien, Adrien." Marinette laughed, repeating the name just as she did in her mind the day before. If only she knew when they'd talked that Adrien was the Chat Noir who loved her just as she loved the both of him. And also that Adrien loved her just as she loved him. 

"Marinette, Marinette, Marinette." Adrien repeated just as he did. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

"I love you so much,  _Princess_. I love you  _so_ much."

Adrien finally knew who else Marinette loved. And to think it was  _him_ all along...

They were just destined to be together from the very start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The other side of the reveal... Has been revealed! I know one particular person in the comments has been looking forward to this reveal... And so I gave in to the demand and gave it to you! I hope this chapter was enough for you all and I'll let you know that there's still more to this story then romance leading up to the reveal...


	6. Chapter 6

Plagg snorted through his nose. "Maybe I should've dropped some more hints on him." Tikki, beside him, nudged him softly, smiling.

"Don't ruin it for them now." Tikki whispered.

A short breath came out of Plagg like silent laughter. "Don't worry. Something will happen."

The black and red kwamis watched their chosen from Marinette bed in anticipation. They hadn't realized it, but Plagg's tail was drifting back and forth slowly while Tikki's plume vibrated, nothing but happy for Marinette.

Adrien let go of Marinette and gazed at her from an arm's length. He'd never seen such a glint in her eyes, even without the pale moonlight there to make her eyes pop out more or the heavy rain patters nearly drowning out the sound of Marinette's breaths. "Marinette-"

"MARINETTE!"

The two separated quickly in surprise (cue frustrated sigh from kwami A and kwami B) just as if a lightning bolt had struck between them. It wasn't, of course, but it was something very similar.

"Alya?" Marinette exclaimed incredulously. A wide eyed look was sent Adrien's way who only stared at her for a few seconds before scrambling up from the floor. "I-I'm a little busy, just wait a moment!" Marinette ran towards Adrien and helped him up quickly, accidentally brushing her head against Adrien's lips.

"I'm coming up anyways! I've seen you from every angle, babe! Nothing's stopping me now!"

Despite the embarrassing remark from Alya, Marinette and Adrien stood in front of each other, staring into each other's eyes. 

"You idiot, hurry up!"

Marinette's eyes snapped up to see the black kwami pulling at strands of Adrien's hair.

"Ow, okay!" Adrien whisper shouted. He placed his hands on the ladder to ascend up, but he paused again.

"Smelly, hurry up!" Plagg urged, pulling harder at Adrien's blonde locks.

Adrien hurriedly got off the ladder and grabbed Marinette's arm, pulling her into a kiss. At that moment, she felt like her knees were going to melt away, but the realization that Alya was coming closer kept her in reality. Adrien licked her bottom lip before separating for the last time, kissing her forehead and finally leaving through the trapdoor. 

Marinette fingered her bottom lip before she was jolted awake by Alya's loud knocking. "Ah-I'm coming!" Marinette stumbled over to the door and unlocked it, almost falling on her butt because of the force Alya put in leaning on the door. "Geez, Alya, why are you here?"

"Why are all your lights off?" Alya questioned, flicking on the light switch.

At a loss for words, Marinette tried looking for what to answer. "I-uh, was about to take a nap." she fibbed, hoping Alya wouldn't see through her obvious lie.

Thankfully, Alya only shrugged. "Makes sense. You've been awfully weird these days, after all." But her eyebrows crushed into each other when she noticed something. "Why are your lips so swollen?"

Blushing, Marinette rubbed her lip with the back of her sleeve, only making them redden more. Adrien sucked on her lip pretty roughly during the few second of heaven they experienced. "I just fell and scraped my lip on the carpet!" Marinette smiled cheekily, as if nothing was wrong.

"Oh, really? If I were anybody else, I'd think you were here  _kissing_ somebody..." Alya raised her eyebrows and walked to Marinette's chaise, plopping down on it. "But it's none of my business."

Feeling guilty, Marinette realized she didn't want to tell another lie. The whole 'being a superhero' thing was something she had no choice to keep, but becoming a  _thing_ with Adrien was something she could tell Alya. She's been there since the very start of Marinette's infatuation, after all. "Well, actually, Adrien was here." Marinette whispered quietly.

"I'm sorry?" Alya almost fell off the seat, amazement shining in her eyes. How'd that happen? Did that mean Adrien was  _just_ here, kissing the life out of Marinette? "Adrien? He was here? What for?"

Marinette shut her eyes closed for a few seconds. Breathe in, breathe out. This type of thing wasn't that big of a deal, was it? The only problem would be when Alya starts asking how things came to be and how Adrien managed to leave in the minute and thirty seconds they had as Alya came up the stairs. "Uh, yeah. He was helping me with my homework."

"Homework? Weren't you just saying that you were about to take a nap?" Alya was suspicious, there was no doubt about it. "It's only been like two hours since school ended, too. If he were really helping you study, it'd take a lot longer than that." Each question Alya asked only made Marinette more and more guilty. Marinette already told the lie about Adrien helping her with her homework on a whim. Maybe it was because they weren't even a confirmed thing. Or maybe it was because Marinette wanted to keep this secret between her and Adrien.

"I... Some things just happened one thing after the other." Marinette sighed. "When you appeared, Adrien freaked and left from the balcony." Pointing to the trapdoor, Marinette hoped to the lords that she wouldn't regret telling Alya this.

"Wait, so... You and Adrien...?"

"We kissed. And hugged." Marinette clenched her teeth. "Sorry I lied to you before, I just... didn't know if I was ready to tell you or not." She immediately braced herself for either a great scolding or extreme gushing.

Thankfully, she got extreme gushing. 

"OH MY GOSH! YOU AND ADRIEN! YOU AND ADRIEN FINALLY?"

The next few hours were filled with this. Marinette eventually told Alya part of everything, keeping out the parts she wanted to keep between her and Adrien.

 

" _Bonjour_ , Marinette."

Marinette nearly bumped into a certain blonde on her way into the school. She didn't even need to look up, because she was already blushing from the sound of his voice. " _B-Bonjour_ , Adrien." Fortunately, Alya wasn't here. If she was, who knows what she might've said. "I-it's a... nice day today, huh? After the rain."

Adrien had a look of pondering, tapping his fingers against his lips. "Really? I love the rain. I actually  _prefer_ the rain." Marinette finally found the courage to look up and immediately looked back down, twiddling her thumbs. "Especially yesterday." Before she knew it, Adrien whispered the two words into her ears, sending shivers down her spine. Then, without warning, Adrien placed a sweet kiss on Marinette's cheek, raising loud gasps from watchers.

"Ah, yesterday? Yeah, t-that... was good." Marinette looked back up and grinned, glad no one else knew what happened (besides Alya, but the secret was still something safe between the two heroes). 

Adrien placed a warm hand on Marinette's shoulder and brought her closer to him, hugging her close as him arm slowly snaked it's way around her shoulders. "Let's go to class, shall we?"

"Huh?" Marinette stopped, placing a small hand on the one placed securely around her shoulders. "Adrien, but what are we?" She did't know whether or not the question would weird Adrien out, but it was floating around in her mind for so long that she couldn't keep it in.

A more  _Chat-_ like air started to find it's way through Adrien, who grinned, pulling Marinette into a hug. "I thought it was plain as day,  _Princess_. We're partner's, we're classmates, and we're..." he said the last part as if he purposely wanted Marinette to melt into the ground. " _L_ _overs_."

If only he said any other synonym of 'lovers'. Anything but the actual word. He could've said  _beloved, boyfriend and girlfriend, sweethearts,_ he could've even said  _inamorato_ , a word literally no one used anymore. But the word he used made it seem so  _permanent_. And needless to say, Marinette loved it.

"L- _lovers_?" A sound similar to a squeal but also close to a choke followed Marinette's words. Adrien smiled, bringing Marinette back to his side and leading her to class.

The moment the pair walked into class, everything was silent, except the fuming of a certain blonde aristocrat.

Marinette couldn't look at anyone, while Adrien was confident, as if being with Marinette had given him every single reason to be stronger and independent. "We're dating." Adrien smiled brilliantly, looking sideways to hide a blush similar to the prominent red on Marinette's face. 

"Ahh, we all knew it would happen." Alya sighed, grinning to her own boyfriend seated in front of her.

"Dating?" Nino asked, surprised. "When did this happen?" Adrien smiled apologetically at his best friend.  _I'll tell you later_. Nino got the message and kept quiet, aware of the storm coming.

Chloe slammed both hands on her desk, grabbing the attention of the entire classroom. "What's the meaning of this!"

"Everyone, take your seats!"

Chloe was cut off from any more argument when Mme. Mendeleiv appeared from behind Adrien and Marinette. Quickly and quietly, the two snickered to each other and took their seats, none avoiding the glare of Chloe Bourgeois. Although for Marinette, she was more avoiding the gaze of Nathanael.

"Let us begin." Mme. Mendeleiv cleared her throat and tapped her books on the desk.

Nino silently leaned towards Adrien. "You're telling me everything." he whispered.

 

* * *

 

 

Marinette immediately ran home after school ended to avoid any further controversy. Alya only snorted when she ran off, joined by Nino, who got all the details during lunch break.

"Hey, hey." Adrien's hand rested perfectly on Marinette's shoulder when she turned the corner around her home. "Don't leave so fast without me."

Marinette turned her body, careful to make sure no one was around. It only made her more comfortable with the situation. Everyone already knew Marinette was the girlfriend to super-model Adrien Agreste, so no one should blame her for being scared of eavesdroppers. "You're not scared?" Marinette asked. 

Adrien thought for a while. Scared? Of paparazzi? Of Chloe? Or of everything else? "I'm not particularly... Scared." Adrien's eyes drifted to Marinette's lips, slightly trembling under the pressure from the whole day. "Oh, God. Marinette, I'm sorry if I went a little too far with flaunting you."

Once again, happiness swelled in Marinette's chest. Flaunting? By saying that, was Marinette safe to presume that Adrien was  _proud_ to have Marinette as a girlfriend? "I-I... I'm just kind of worried. You're probably used to this whole 'people spreading rumors' and 'people taking pictures' situation, but.. It's not something I've even gotten accustomed to." Adrien immediately felt worse. He didn't think about that at all. Although Ladybug was courageous and strong, Marinette was still mellow and shy. Adrien was just so used to the strong Marinette that dealt with Chat Noir more often.

"I'm sorry, Marinette. I guess my  _Chat_ was taking things a bit too far." 

When Adrien noticed Marinette didn't say a word, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer. "Hey, don't worry about it. If anything happens, I'll back you up. I'll protect you." Marinette wished she was able to witness this charismatic Adrien before. Having him say that to her as her boyfriend did nothing but make her stumble over ever sentence she could possibly think up.

"I-uh, I-I'll protect you, too!" Although it came out more as a croaky oath, Adrien knew she was sincere, despite how insecure she was. Unable to stop himself, he leaned down and kissed Marinette softly, placing his free hand behind her neck, cradling her head. It was during times like this that Marinette knew she wouldn't give a second thought about people watching. They could watch all they wanted. That's what Adrien's lips did to her.

Marinette smiled against Adrien's lips, prodding his side playfully when his phone rang.

"Oh, my-" Adrien backed away, fumbling through his stuff, looking for his cell. When he finally found it, he slid his finger across the screen and answered. "Hello?"

It'd be a lie if Marinette said she wasn't a bit annoyed. They were a new couple, and everything should've been fine and dandy, but the fact that Adrien was a model--and, without a doubt,  _very busy_ \--made it harder to be the fresh, new couple of the block. Chloe was a totally different problem, however. The girl was seething with anger, and who knew what she'd do. But it was also a fact that she may not do anything. Chloe wasn't sincere, so maybe Prince Ali was taking her attention away, just for a little while.

"Oh, sorry." The glint in Adrien's eyes dimmed. "I-I'll be right there. I'm just... Talking to someone right now." With a sigh, Adrien hung up and solemnly slipped his phone back in his pocket. Sensing the worried look from Marinette, Adrien looked up and tried for a strong smile. "Don't worry about it, Marinette. It's just that Natalie and Gorilla are here already and... I was really looking forward to spending this first day with you."

Marinette was disappointed, but she had to get used to this. She didn't know much, but she knew that Adrien was allowed little freedom and that was a fact that wouldn't change for a  _while_. "Just go on. I'll call you tonight." Marinette grasped Adrien's hands and smiled. "Maybe not today, but we'll have many other opportunities to be together."

Adrien laughed, sending tingles of joy down Marinette's spine. He looked her in the eyes and slowly placed his forehead onto hers, admiring the beautiful blue glare. "I'll be looking forward to it,  _Princess._ " Marinette blushed, looking down. But after a short while, she looked up again, also admiring the brilliant green. 

"I'll miss you,  _mon minou_."

After a comfortable silence, Adrien waved goodbye to Marinette, who adjusted her bag and headed back home.

The moment she walked through the door, a cacophony of ' _oh my god, Marinette. Is it true?_ ', ' _I can't believe it finally happened!'_ and indistinguishable noises overwhelmed her. She opened her eyes to see not only her parents, but half of her class staring at her with wide eyes.

"Uh, hey guys." Marinette smiled awkwardly and waved. "What are you doing here?"

"To get details!" Alya yelled over the constant mumblings of their classmates. Marinette inwardly groaned. Either Alya had brought the whole class to her home or the class itself started begging Alya for answers, who then thought it'd be a good idea to concentrate in her parent's bakery.

Marinette looked guiltily at her parents, not knowing how to explain everything that was going on. 

Sabine looked over at her daughter from behind the glass display and smiled. "Don't worry about it. You can explain yourself later."

"Besides," Tom yelled from inside the kitchen. "Business is booming!" Marinette looked around to see that every one of her classmates had a pastry of some kind in their hands.

"Guys, it's not something that you should be so excited about." Marinette assured, although thinking to herself,  _The entire truth might, though_. 

But eventually, they were told that Adrien had called Marinette over the phone last night and asked her out, to which Marinette happily complied. A far stretch from the truth, but Marinette didn't want to get so close to what really happened last night. 

In the end, her classmates stayed for a while before leaving, one by one. Of course Alya was going to be the last one out, but someone Marinette didn't expect was Nathanael.

As Marinette greeted Mylene out the door, a soft tap on the shoulder surprised Marinette. When she turned around, Nathanael was smiling at her, clutching a piece of paper neatly folded into threes. "Can we... Talk outside?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah... yeah, sure." Marinette caught a supportive glance from Alya before leaving the shop with Nathanael behind her.

Marinette had already braced herself. She was obviously aware of his feelings towards her and was readying herself for a sad confession followed by a sad rejection. 

Sighing, Marinette faced Nathanael, suddenly more aware of the little height difference they had. She didn't know how to start the conversation, but thankfully, she didn't have to.

"I'm happy for you, Marinette." Nathanael smiled, slightly brushing his bangs to the side, giving her full view of his entire face. "I mean, I knew it was going to happen eventually, but... I wanted you to know that I really like you." Of course she knew that. But Nathanael was unaware of the entire controversy when Marinette purified Paris.

"I'm sorry." Marinette whispered, looking down. 

A single piece of paper Marinette recognized as the one Nathanael was clutching earlier came into view as Nathanael held it out for her to take.

"Thank you." She carefully unfolded the paper, eyes widening at the beautiful sketch of Marinette Cheng in the arms of Nathanael as the Evillustrator. Only this time, she was in the arms of Chat Noir. "Wait, Nathanael, you-"

He smiled, brightening up his features. "I'm an artist. I know there is magic, but don't underestimate an artist's creativity and imagination. I can't see well in the dark, but i can definitely see more than the usual person." Out of words, Marinette just stared at him, shocked.

"Since when?"

Nathanael laughed, showing Marinette a side of him she hadn't seen before. "That should stay a secret, Marinette."

He then left, not before saying goodbye. Marinette answered with a strange assortment of sounds before running back into the shop.

"What's the deal?" Alya asked, stuffing her face with what was possibly her fourth eclair. 

A sigh left Marinette's lips. "I just... I don't know." Thankfully, Alya left the shop and Marinette was finally alone with her parents.

"Maman, Papa-"

"Don't worry about it, Marinette." Sabine looked up from locking the display case. "You don't need to explain anything. We trust your judgement."

"We'd like it if we met this boy once more, though." Tom yelled from the kitchen. Marinette giggled and kissed both of her parents and went upstairs.

 

Instead of reading up the next chapter of  _Pride and Prejudice_ , Marinette ended staring at Adrien's contact number, wondering whether or not if she should call.

"Marinette, if you're so conflicted, just call him!" Tikki called over Marinette's shoulder for the fifth time, surprising Marinette for the fifth time.

"I know, Tikki, but I don't know if he's busy right now." Marinette groaned, rolling over on her bed and staring at the starry sky. "I don't want to be a bother. I especially don't want to call him and expect him to pick up just because we're dating now." Marinette dropped her phone on her chest and closed her eyes, liking the moonlight on her face. When a dark shadow loomed over her, Marinette creaked an eye open and stifled a scream.

"Just thought I'd  _drop in_ ," Chat wasn't only looking at her through the trap door, he was hanging over it by his knees, hair over his forehead and nearly brushing against Marinette's knees when she sat up, inching away from the black-clad hero.

"I thought I was going to call you!" Marinette exclaimed, grabbing her phone and clutching it to her chest.

Chat pondered for a bit, tightening his lips together. "I was waiting for that call, but you took too long, so I decided to just see you face-to-face. Besides, I think seeing you in the flesh it much better then hearing your voice over a device." Chat swung from side to side, seemingly attempting to swing over and land gracefully on his feet when his leg slipped off and he fell on top of Marinette, noses touching.

Marinette was reminded of after school when they were resting each other's forehead comfortably, like newlyweds.

Chat suddenly grinned and moved closer, tilting his head over to the side. Marinette found herself falling into his flow and leaned in more, sliding her hands around Chat's shoulders and pulling him in.

"Plagg, de-transform me." Chat whispered before smashing his lips into Marinette's. Marinette almost screamed when the person she kissed was Adrien. They'd kissed twice before, but suddenly this time felt different. Maybe it was because they were completely alone in Marinette's room (minus the kwami) or maybe it was because of how Adrien de-transformed right before Marinette's eyes.

Without words, the two kwami simply floated away to a safer spot.

"I feel like every time they'll see each other they'll react exactly like this." Plagg groaned.

Tikki giggled, shaking her head. "It's okay. If Master Fu believes they deserve to be together, then I trust his instincts. Besides, after seeing them, who can say otherwise?" Plagg grunted in response, inching a bit closer to the spotted kwami.

Marinette let out short gasps every time their lips separated and connected again. The feel of Adrien's soft lips against hers sent her mind and body going wild. He had an undoubtably great skill in kissing, and she suddenly wondered if all of his practice was through her. 

Adrien's arms were on both sides of Marinette's head, against the wall. He found himself sweating with the heat and friction created by the two of them. His heart thumped like drums as Marinette ran her fingers through his hair, stroking his cheeks softly. Marinette moaned, catching Adrien off guard. His arms collapsed against the wall, and his head was tucked into Marinette's shoulder.

"Adrien?" Marinette exclaimed, lowering her hands to his shoulders, gently pushing him back up. "Are you okay? Was I..."

A short laugh was heard directly in Marinette's right ear. "Bad? No, no, Marinette. You were absolutely fantastic." Marinette's ears turned red and she could feel her right ear twitch as Adrien's breaths warmed them up. "You're just..." Adrien picked himself back up, a slight blush highlighting his features. "You're too beautiful,  _Princess_."

"Ah, wha-" Marinette turned her head and pushed him away, sending him falling on his back. Marinette immediately felt bad and came over to pick him up. "I'm sorry, Adrien, I just-awaAAAGH!"

When she opened her eyes, she realized that Adrien had taken the perfect opportunity to grasp the unsuspecting girl by the wrist and pull her into him. "ADRIEN!" she screamed.

"Shhh." Adrien smiled with a finger placed up to his lips. "We don't want your parents to hear,  _Princess_." Marinette closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, trying not to be so overwhelmed by everything. Instead, she sighed and allowed herself to lie on top of him, interlocking their fingers.

When he felt her finally start to welcome his chest, Adrien brushed Marinette's bangs off her face.

"I don't care what we do, Marinette. As long as I'm here, by your side, I don't need anything else in the world." Adrien whispered. Marinette tensed, eyes going wild. How was she supposed to respond when he told her something like that? Adrien shook his head and hugged Marinette. "I really, really love you."

Marinette smiled, "I love you more. And I can't imagine a day on this earth without you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this took longer than usual.   
> I honestly just wanted Nathanael to make an appearance since he's often overlooked as 'the guy that's into Marinette' or used as 'marinette's sad ex-boyfriend' or something similar. Although it was very brief and awkward, I just wanted him to make an appearance, haha!  
> Please comment and tell me what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

Once Adrien had left, he knew he was in for both teasing and intense scolding from Plagg.

"Seriously, do you never think about me?" Plagg complained to Adrien, who was sitting at his bed, shoulders slumped. "It's one thing to make me deal with you kissing and doing these things with her with me basically on your body, but also for me to get whisked off your body and witness something that parents would definitely now allow their children to see in any movie? What you two did was... was-"

"Plagg, seriously." Adrien cut him off, exasperated, although reminiscing it almost cracked a grin on his face. "You're like, 5 million years old. You've probably done worse things."

"PSSHT." Plagg rolled his large eyes with a hiss. "5 _thousand_ years old, kid. Besides, what you did was still disgusting for a kid your age!"

"We literally just hugged and... and kissed, and basically cuddled for a while until you forced me to go back home." He remembered his annoyance when Plagg appeared between the two lovebirds and pinched Adrien's nose, pulling him upwards, yelling, _Okay, that's enough you hormonal teens! Let's get back home before curfew!_ The blush and horrified expression on Marinette's face almost embarrassed Adrien, himself. Thankfully, being Chat for a while had taught him otherwise.

"Hmph." Plagg turned around, flicking his tail back and forth. "You're sorry, right?"

"I'm _so_ sorry."

"You better repay me, smelly."

A knowing smile came upon Adrien's face. "You complain about my smelly shoes, my clothes... But your cheese is probably the worst thing I've even whiffed up in my entire life." Plagg snorted, turning to give Adrien a look that might as well have said, _You don't know until you've tried it, Bub._

Either way, Adrien left his room to dig in the kitchen for the cheese that Plagg was basically obsessed with. He'd gone down the long flights of stairs and headed to the kitchen when a stern voice surprised him.

"Adrien? What are you doing out right now?"

Adrien turned to see Natalie, posture straight and regal, as always.

"I was just hungry." Adrien fibbed, smiling awkwardly and rubbing the back of his neck, are sure sign that he was lying. "I was just getting myself a snack so that I wouldn't get too tired while doing my homework."

If Natalie knew he was lying, she didn't show it. Instead, she raised a suspicious brow and once gain repeated a line she'd said often. "Don't go too far. Even though you're trying to be a normal boy, you're not. You're Adrien Agreste, son of Gabriel Agreste as well a the most popular Model in Paris. You need to watch your image. Don't overeat and watch what you're putting in your mouth."

Those lines Adrien had heard often, but his heart stung just like every other time. _Even though you're trying to be a normal boy, you're not. You're Adrien Agreste, son of Gabriel Agreste..._ There were countless times where Adrien had only wished to be acknowledged as Adrien, instead of Supermodel, Adrien Agreste.

But like always, Adrien managed a small smile. "Sorry, Natalie. But don't worry. I'm watching my diet." Natalie hummed, satisfied with his answer, and left to go back to wherever she came from.

Sighing, Adrien continued his path to the kitchen, only with smaller, dragged steps. After he managed to get Plagg a few large pieces of camembert, Adrien trudged his way back upstairs and entered his room. Plagg immediately noticed the change in his chosen, and flew up to him.

"What's going on, kid?" Plagg's tail had dropped, noticing the contrast in Adrien from now and from when he just left the room. "Did something happen?"

Adrien didn't speak for a while, but lifted up two pieces of camembert and watched as Plagg, as expected, took it and flew off somewhere else to finish his snack in peace.

Adrien walked up to large window and rested his head on it, sighing deeply. Even though he was Chat Noir, he was still Adrien Agreste. And he didn't know if that was who he really wanted to be anymore.

 

 

A tingle crept up Marinette's spine and jolted her awake. Two nights ago, when Chat Noir had decided to visit her, she found herself unconsciously leaving it open so she could stare at the star-lit sky. (No, not so that he could visit whenever he wanted. Although that is just a thought Marinette would rather keep to herself.)

It had just truly dawned on her that she really didn't know anything about her new boyfriend, Chat Noir and Adrien Agreste. The only parts of his private life she knew were the parts that Chat had unknowingly revealed to her or what she'd seen and heard from his phone calls with Natalie.

It's be an understatement to say that she was bothered about that. If anything, she was extremely bothered. If there were thousands of variations of that word, she would've used them all in one sentence. She truly did care for him, whether as a free, unconfined superhero or a meek, extremely confined supermodel. She'd realized that despite watching him since school started, she never really tried to see what was within him and instead watched him and put his pictures on her walls. She was no better than anyone else, and she suddenly hated herself for this.

All those days that Adrien came to school with a disconnected look on his face, or the lonely frown he tried up cover up when he had to decline or cancel plans with who was basically his first true friend, Nino. Marinette felt than maybe even Alya knew more about him than she did. Alya spoke more words and sentences to him, after all. It wasn't until she realized that he was Chat that she was suddenly able to talk to him normally and even date him normally.

All of it was basically a slap coming directly from Hawkmoth, saying, _So you finally figured it out, peasant?_

"Ugh!" Marinette closed her eyes and took a deep breath. What would Ladybug do? What would Ladybug do? Another helpless grown came from within Marinette, because she couldn't think of what Ladybug would do, and she was ashamed that she felt that she had to ask the artificial courageous and strong side of her.

"Marinette?"

Said girl looked to her right at the sleepy kwami, who was rubbing her eyes. Marinette was silent, watching the red kwami, when Tikki's eyes widened, understanding what was happening.

"Are you doubting yourself?" Tikki felt it. That's why she had felt it. The pull in her gut told her that Marinette had gone back to how she was in the very beginning: unconfident in herself and untrusting in her own ability. "Marinette, please-"

"Tikki, it's okay." but the look in her eyes said otherwise. Marinette was not okay, she was scared and unsure, and Tikki didn't know if she could help her. What she needed was Chat Noir. Or rather, Adrien.

Marinette smiled and closed her eyes, sighing. "I'm just thinking too much. Let's go back to sleep, okay?" Without a word, Tikki nodded and laid back down to sleep.

She had to fix this. How, she only had the slightest idea.

 

Marinette walked into class the next day feeling just as she did before she ever became Ladybug. Basically, everything she didn't want to be. She slid into her seat, attempting to act as if these thoughts weren't in her mind at all, because if anyone were to find out, she'd be even more guilt-ridden then she did already.

Trying to occupy herself, Marinette slipped out her sketchbook of countless designs and flipped to a fresh, new page, tapping the tip of her pencil to the unblemished paper. Only a few minutes had gone by when she realized that she had drawn a familiar pair of sneaky eyes, lit up just like they always did when a plan had worked out well. The undeniable grit in his character was obvious in the way that she'd roughly sketched his eyes. It made sense, since she'd looked into those very eyes countless times.

She clenched her teeth and slammed the book shut, staring deeply into the pink with white dots that were usually a part of her daily life. But never before had she ever hated the very color that threatened to take away and reveal all her deepest thoughts.

"Good morning, Marinette."

The sweet, reassuring, and kind tone of voice brought Marinette back into a very similar pair of green eyes, filled with concern and a chaste love.

"Ah, I-! G-good morning, Adrien." Marinette flicked her own wrist underneath the table, trying to ignore the suspicious look she got from Alya and Nino.

Adrien didn't say anything about it. He instead smiled turned back in his seat to welcome Mme. Mendeleiv. Marinette couldn't help but try to read his actions. What if he was, again, hiding within him the darkness that he's tried to hard to outshine with the light. What Marinette wished was that he knew that he was actually the light, and that the darkness was a blemish, and everyone was the same. But she couldn't figure out when, under any circumstances, that she would tell him without feeling ultimately hypocritical, since she didn't know anything about him, herself.

Classes were torturously slow and painful, because whenever she looked at the back of Adrien's head, she was reminded of everything she thought she had become, but wasn't.

Thankfully, lunch break came, and an explosion was heard from the direction from Notre Dame.

Marinette immediately stood up and ran out, not waiting to signal Adrien, because she was confident in the trust and instinct the two shared. She ran out of the school, heading to the direction of her family's bakery. What she found was in the park, standing above a familiar couple Marinette recognized as her parents, holding a large breadstick above their heads.

"Maman, Papa!" Marinette sucked her tears back in and transformed behind a tree.

When Marinette turned into Ladybug, she expected nothing but the overflowing confidence and power that led her into becoming the awe-worthy leader she was known for. Instead, a heavy feeling was deep in her heart, that she'd tried to mask with everything she had learned up until now.

Ladybug swung her yo-yo and knocked the perpetrator's arm away, leaving him dazed, reaching out to grab his breadstick again. It it weren’t for the fact that Breadstick Man was going after her parents, Ladybug would’ve laughed at the irony.

“Now, isn’t that catastrophic?”

Thankfully, her beloved partner had just come by. He jumped from the fence and landed right next to Ladybug, flashing her the smirk she wanted to keep forever.

“Oh, _chaton_.” Ladybug sighed. “You’ve already used that before. You might want to work on some new puns or just stop it altogether.” Chat Noir laughed, but did not respond, turning towards The Breadman.

“Well, let’s not talk about that anyone.” Chat whipped out his baton and elongated it, spinning it in front of him and Ladybug, guarding them from the chocolate custard coming from the breadstick.

“Ugh!” Ladybug grimaced. “It’s not a Breadstick, it’s a chocolate eclair!” She wanted to scold herself for not realizing it before. It was an immense failure and shame towards pastry makers of Paris. The eclair was cracked and the little bits of chocolate frosting were brittle, obviously untempered and of an extremely low grade.

Seeing the eclair, it was easy for her to guess what had happened to make Eclair-Man so furious.

“Chat Noir, you try and distract him. I’ll get my-those people away and as far as possible.” Ladybug ordered, her great leadership abilities pulling in. Chat nodded and did as he was told, just as he had every other time they fought an akuma.

Ladybug ran in the opposite direction and watched as Chat Noir taunted the akumatized victim and led him farther away from her parents. “You two! Come here. I need to bring you somewhere safe.” Tom Dupain wrapped a protective arm around Sabine, trying his best to be strong for his wife, who was shivering madly in fear. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.”

Sabine smiled. “We knew you’d be coming.” Ladybug fought back a lump in her throat. They had so much faith in her. She couldn’t fail them now. She shouldn’t, and she wouldn’t.

Ladybug grabbed the couple (with difficulty, considering Tom’s great height and weight) and wracked her brain, trying to think about where to put them. The Eiffel Tower wouldn’t work. It would’ve been completely obvious, as she had done so before many times. It’d be hard to hide them in an alleyway because of Tom’s great stature and the guilt she’d have to live with after sticking her parents in a dirty, polluted, and unsanitary alleyway where who knows what happened on a daily basis.

“My Lady!”

Ladybug turned her head on instinct and stared at Chat Noir, who was using his staff to poke holes in the giant eclair that was assumed to hold the akuma in. “Chat Noir?”

My mansion. He mouthed. Ladybug’s jaw dropped. His mansion? Maybe that would be a safe place, but that would absolutely reveal his identity to her parents, unless they were extremely careful and had great sense. Unfortunately, Ladybug didn’t think her parents were that dumb.

“It’s okay!” Chat yelled, jumping to the top of the fence, poking the Eclair-Man on different parts of his body, angering him. He snickered when the shorter man waved his eclair around, threatening to shove it up Chat’s--ahem. “If I can trust you, I can trust the very people who brought you up.” He smiled at Ladybug, eyes twinkling.

Ladybug swallowed down any feelings of distrust towards Chat Noir or herself. It was true. She had to believe in her parents, at least. “This’ll be a pretty rough trip, so just hold on tight.” She assured her parents their safety and jumped off, heading towards Adrien’s house.

Secretly, she dreaded coming closer to the house, but once she came closer to Adrien’s open window, she knew there was so stopping anything. Ladybug jumped through the window and carefully set her parent’s down.

Tom’s eyebrow rose as he looked around the room. “Who’s this…” Sabine gently placed her hands on Tom’s large forearm, shaking her head silently.

“I’m sorry, but I have to ask you two to not dig in any further.” Ladybug warned. “We’ve gotten permission from the very person who lives here, since it’s safe. I hope you’ll respect us as much as we respect you.” Ladybug smiled and left from the same window she came from. Thankfully, she was able to keep herself composed after meeting with her parents as Ladybug the first time.

 

* * *

 

 

Ladybug and Chat Noir quickly defeated the akuma just as they had many times before, ending it with their usual fist bump. After Ladybug retrieved her parents and brought them back to the bakery, she met up with Chat Noir again.

Chat cleared his throat and gracefully held out a clawed hand. "Well then, shall we head back,  _My Lady_?" Ladybug laughed and took it before pulling Chat somewhere else so they can de-transform.

Marinette allowed Tikki to go back into her purse when she noticed Adrien's eyes locked onto her. "W-What?" Marinette laughed awkwardly, unable to stop herself from looking at Adrien's thin lips curved into a smile.

"Oh, nothing." Adrien laughed, completely genuine. "You always look so beautiful whether you're Ladybug or Marinette. I couldn't help but stare at you." Noticing the furious blush across Marinette's cheeks, he smirked. "What? Too much  _Chat_?"

"Oh, no, no, Adrien." Marinette smiled, looking up into the taller boy's eyes. "You're  _perfect_. That's all." Adrien's lips curved up on one side, splitting only for a toothy smile. Adrien threw his arms around Marinette and pulled her close to him, shaking her back and forth. "Whoa, hey!"

Adrien slid his hand down into Marinette's and grasped them before pulling her out of the side of the school building.

 

Alya and Nino shook their heads when Adrien and Marinette offered to eat with them. They both snickered to each other, whispering loudly enough for Adrien and Marinette to hear. "Since you guys left together anyways, we thought you'd want a little more  _you_ time, if you know what I mean."

So they ended up sitting together on the stairs of the school, just like before, eating in silence.

"Marinette, are you alright?" Adrien bumped shoulders with her playfully. "Before the akuma attack, you seemed a little down." Marinette sighed, realizing that trying to keep this away from him wasn't going to do her any good.

"I just... I felt really ashamed of myself earlier. I felt like I didn't deserve you." Marinette kept her eyes off of Adrien and took a huge bite out of her sandwich.

Adrien's eyebrows furrowed, placing his hand over Marinette's free one. "Why in the world would you think that? Did Chloe say something?" Marinette furiously shook her head, looking him straight in the eye.

"There's no way that I would ever let something she said get to me!" Marinette exclaimed, as it the mere thought of it riled up every blood cell in her body. But instead, she'd immediately cooled down. "I just feel terrible lately." Marinette grumbled, silently hoping that Adrien wouldn't push on.

Adrien's heart hurt. Marinette really felt that way? He almost didn't ask further, but pushed aside  _old Adrien_ and allowed  _new Adrien_ to resurface. "Why then?"

Marinette pursed her lips, biting the inside of her cheek. "I was just thinking a lot last night, then I realized that if it weren't for you meeting me as Chat Noir that one night, I'd stay being just like everyone else. I  _was_ like everyone else, Adrien, and I'm ashamed that I almost stayed that way."

"Being like everyone else? Marinette, you're not! Absolutely not!" The thought of it surprised Adrien. Marinette  _wasn't_ like all the other people. She was different, and Adrien knew it as a fact.

"I am!" Marinette clenched the wrapper of her sandwich. "Or at least, I was. I didn't see you for who you were, and instead I only saw you as Adrien Agreste; smart, handsome, talented, and perfect. If it weren't for Chat Noir telling me things otherwise, I would've thought that way forever. If you started liking me before, you'd probably only be disappointed because Marinette Dupain-Cheng only saw who you were on the surface. I was crazy in love with you, but I didn't even know anything about you or what you had to deal with. I'm ashamed that I could only realize everything when Chat Noir told me."

"No," Adrien knew that wasn't it. Marinette was probably just being insecure, and things in her mind suddenly blew out of proportion. Just like him. "Don't you remember what you told Chat? Why you liked Adrien so much?" Adrien was probably causing a scene in front of the students, but he didn't really care anymore. "You didn't like me in the beginning  _because_ I was a famous model. You even thought that I was snooty, rude, and above others because of my status."

Marinette pulled her hand away from Adrien's, but he grabbed it back. "You started liking me because you saw me for what I really am. It doesn't matter that you don't know my private life, you're the only one who didn't like me for my fame and fortune. You're not like all those other people. You're not."

A deep breath was heard from Marinette's left side. "Marinette, I love you just the same way. Even though it was through Chat Noir, I saw the real you and fell in love because of it. You're kind, you're beautiful, and you make the best pastries in Paris." Marinette couldn't control the laugh that bubbled up from inside her. She brushed away a tear and turned to Adrien.

"I guess you're right. I was just thinking too much." Marinette smiled shyly, looking down.

Adrien kissed her gently on the forehead, then placing his on hers and looking her in the eyes so that she couldn't avoid him anymore. "I guess I should thank you for thinking too much. Because of that, I'm suddenly proud to be who I am, prisoner of my father or not." Marinette cleared the rain, giving him sight of a beautiful sun, spotted in black and covered in the reddest of red. "But if you want to know more about me, it wouldn't hurt to ask. There are a lot of things no one knows about me. How about this: I like anime."

Marinette laughed. "I don't really watch anime all that much."

"Well, if you ever feel the need, I'm right here. My encyclopedic knowledge is limitless." Adrien thrusted a thumb into his chest, grinning proudly. "Gives me an excuse to come over your house in the daytime too, right?"

"Oh, stop." Marinette pushed Adrien away before yelping when heavy rain suddenly started to fall down like sharp needles. Adrien quickly grabbed her sandwich and pulled her into the dry safety of the school.

"Whoa, where'd all this rain come from?" Nino groaned as he and Alya joined them.

Alya narrowed her eyes at the rain. "Maybe the world's just out to get us."

Marinette and Adrien locked eyes, laughing.  _Or we're just out to get the world._


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you'll like this new turn!

Despite Marinette and Adrien’s light-hearted mood, the rain never stopped. In fact, it only got worse, but no one paid it any heed. After all, rain wasn’t something uncommon in Paris.

“I’m glad everything turned out okay!” Tikki stretched out her limbs after leaving Marinette’s bag. “I was afraid that you’d get in trouble.” Marinette laughed, shaking her head.

“Why would I get in trouble?” Marinette asked, laying out her schoolbooks across her table.

Tikki shrugged. “I was afraid you’d get akumatized. And we both know that wouldn’t be good.” Marinette pursed her lips and didn’t say anything. She couldn’t say that _wasn’t_ possible. After all, she had also felt her heart drop with every single negative image and thought that came to her mind. “But even though things have sorted out already, I want you to always remember that no matter if you’re Ladybug or if Adrien’s Chat Noir, you’re still you. And that’s all that matters!”

Marinette laughed again, sharp and clear tones overlapping the loud _pitter-patters_ of rain. “I know that now. I shouldn’t even have had those thoughts in the first place. It was dumb of me. I can’t let my emotions run over my life, especially since I’ve the most important job of being the savior and guardian of Paris.” A triumphant smile graced itself onto Marinette’s face. Maybe she had gotten even _more_ confident, but she really started appreciating who she was thanks to Adrien.

“And Chat Noir,” Tikki reminded.

“And Chat Noir,” Marinette repeated. That’s right. No one could _ever_ forget the sassy and incredibly un _pun_ ny side of the duo.

After thinking for a while, Marinette sighed, staring out her window. “I wonder if Adrien likes hamsters.”

 _“They’re okay, I mean, I_ do _prefer cats, though.”_

Marinette yelped. “Who- _Chat Noir_!” She wanted to groan, but she couldn’t help her huge smile as the black-clad being walked up to her, completely dry despite the rain.

“It’s a nice day out, isn’t it?” Chat grinned, glancing at the sky for a brief second. “Well, before the rain.”

“I thought you liked the rain, _chaton_.” Marinette swung around on her chair, playfully smirking.

Chat raised his brows suggestively. “Only if it’s you and me, _princess_.” Marinette laughed again, her stomach not hurting despite the amount of times she had already.

“How are you not wet?” Marinette asked, peering around the hero for an umbrella. As she expected, Chat Noir brought out a black umbrella, as if it had always been in his hands. Where it came from, Marinette had no idea. “Where were you keeping that?”

“Well, wouldn’t you like to know?” Chat grinned, taking a seat on Marinette’s chaise. Seeing the annoyed look on Marinette’s face, Chat waved her off. “I brought it back home with me that night we cuddled. Since you never gave it back.”

Although the remembrance of the “unholy” and “sinful” night they had (completely PG, chat’s word) had struck a thin string in Marinette’s head, she widened her eyes. “Oh, yeah! Sorry, I forgot about it.” It was only a bit of the truth. She never gave it back because she was too shy to ask him. What better way than to have the man himself take it back.

“I guess I didn’t really need it, though. With this suit, I’m pretty much immune to all that stuff.” Chat shrugged, laying the wet umbrella against the armrest of the chaise. “But I brought it because I thought you’d want to keep it.” Marinette raised a brow, surprised. Yet the small smile on her face erased any sense of suspicion.

“I’d want to keep it, you said?”

“For the first time we became friends.” Chat smiled tenderly. “It was raining that day, just like today. Although maybe it was a bit lighter than today.”

“It was _definitely_ lighter that day.” Marinette’s heart swelled at how Chat actually remembered the day. Marinette definitely remembered the day she first fell in love with him, but to think he also remembered? “Why don’t you de-transform? There’s no need for you to stay in costume when you’re with me.”

“You see, I would, _My Lady_.” Chat started, placing his his left leg over his right, posture prim and proper. “But I actually thought we could patrol for a bit. As Ladybug and Chat Noir. It’s been a while, after all.”

“Well,” Marinette stood up, glancing at Tikki. “Why don’t we, then?”

 

 

  
“It’s been awhile since I’ve been Ladybug.” Ladybug lunged across roofs, the rain in her eyes not bothering her in the slightest. The only reason she agreed to ‘patrol’ with Chat was because of the armour-like spandex. There was also the fact that in this heavy rain, no one would be outside, which meant more alone time with Chat out in the open.

“It's because you missed this a _meow_ sing feline, didn't you, my lady?” Chat asked, trailing right behind her. Catching the annoyed glance Ladybug threw back at him, he retorted, “Don't act like you don't ap _purr_ eciate my puns!”

Ladybug sighed, shrugging her shoulders. “I guess it wouldn’t be right if they weren’t any puns in our relationship.” Chat tried to settle down the loud _thumps_ of his heart. _Relationship, she said. A relationship._ Noticing the silence from the cat, Ladybug stopped and turned to him. “What?”

“Oh, nothing.” Chat drawled. “I just ne _fur_ realized until _meow_ that being with you would make me so happy.” Ladybug blushed, softly hitting the man on the shoulder with a loosely clenched fist.

“Stop it, you silly kitty.” Ladybug laughed, brushing some wet strands of hair out of her eyes, glistening with the brightest blue hue Chat had ever seen. It was even bluer than the sky on the clearest summer day.

“My Lady, I hope you know my love for you is not to be taken for granted,” Chat said, seriously, as he held Ladybug’s hands and brought them up to his chest, allowing Ladybug to feel the strong heartbeats.

Ladybug, in turn, took a step closer so that the only thing separating them was the three inch difference their closed fists created. “Of course, not, _mon minou_. You are the world.” The green eyes stared stronger into Ladybug’s before closing slowly. Ladybug could feel Chat’s slight breaths on her lips as he leaned in, entwining their fingers together. Ladybug smiled before completely closing the distance, enjoying the softness of the model/hero’s lips.

_“Am I interrupting?”_

Ladybug’s eyes snapped open as she reluctantly separated herself from Chat Noir, who was pouting, obviously disappointed. “Who are you?” Ladybug demanded, despite knowing. It was another akumatized victim, only this one, she couldn’t make any inferences based on how he looked on the outside.

“My name is not one I shall reveal.” The man smiled evilly, the glint in his eyes reflecting the exact same aura.

Chat narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t make any funny puns. Not now, at least. This one was different. But how? “You know, I specifically asked her out _today_ because I thought that no one was going to be outside in this rain.”

“Oh, _this_ rain will be having nothing of the sort.” The man tipped his fedora over one eye, placing the other hand in his dress pants pockets.

Ladybug glanced over the man a hundred times. What different? There _had_ to be something. But what? He was dressed in black dress clothes, as if he either came from a funeral or an extremely dark meeting with his co-workers. There was always something, though. There was always something different about each akumatized victim. Where was the akuma?

“The rain won’t be on anyone’s side. The rain won’t be there for you. _Ever_.” The man took a step closer, and Chat could distinctly feel the rain pound harder with the single step the man took.

 _Okay_. Ladybug thought. _He definitely has something against rain. And that’s his weapon. Does he have an umbrella or something?_ The unnamed Rain Man (that’s what Ladybug had just decided to call him) took several more steps, the rain coming down like sharp, thin needles on Ladybug and Chat Noir’s faces, the only places that weren’t protected by their suits and masks.

“Nice shoes, man. Are those what’s in charge of the weather?” Chat asked, feigning ignorance. _Good_ , Ladybug thought. _If we can’t figure out where the akuma is, we can have the guy tell us instead._ Akuma victims weren’t always the brightest, after all.

Rain Man laughed, and the sound of rain seemed to heighten, ringing throughout Ladybug’s mind, clouding her thoughts and distracting her from the task at hand. _How much was Rain Man capable of?_

When Ladybug looked over at Chat, he seemed to be in the same situation. His leather cat’s ears were flat against his head, obviously finding Rain Man to be a complete threat, different from anything else they’ve encountered.

“I need your miraculous.” The Rain Man’s face clouded over, and the sky did the exact same. It was dark like night, even though it was only supposed to be four in the afternoon.

 _He’s quick to do what’s needed,_ Ladybug discovered. _Although most victims will try and get their grudges over with, he’s just doing exactly what Hawkmoth wants him to do._ She looked over at Chat again, who seemed to understand everything, also.

“Let’s go!” Ladybug and Chat Noir lunged at Rain Man immediately, assuming that if they did so, his weakness will show immediately. Instead, Rain Man seemed to disappear as he took a step back, reappearing right behind Ladybug.

“May I take these?” He fingered Ladybug’s earrings, sending a chill down her spine.

“ _You little_ -” Chat threw himself at him, angered. “Stay away from her!” Rain Man only disappeared again, shaking his head mournfully, sticking his hands back into his pockets.

“The rain will only cause pain and sadness.”

Ladybug unfroze from her spot, wanting to slap herself for freezing up in the first place. This man was powerful. His sadness was probably something the two had never seen before. “Chat, be careful.” She whispered, the rain in her ears growing ever more stronger.

“No, _My Lady._ ” Chat growled, only hearing the sound of blood rushing in his ears. “Love conquers all. No matter what this guy’s going through, we can fix it if we work together.” Ladybug thought that the rain in her ears had stopped for a moment when she heard those words. _Love conquers all._

Ladybug fixed her stance, holding her yo-yo in hand. “Chat, remember Dark Cupid? What if it’s the same for Rain Man?”

“Dark Cupid? You mean the kiss I never remembered?” Chat asked. He looked over, a teasing look in his eyes. “I’m just kidding. But yeah, I think I remember. Do you think true love’s kiss will save him?”

Ladybug was doubtful, but if this wasn’t it, then what was? “I don’t know what suffering he’s going through. But the safest thing to assume is that someone he loved dumped him.”

_“Sad assumption, but you’re on the right track.”_

Ladybug spun around, throwing her yo-yo around in attempt to catch the man. Instead, he melted into a puddle on the roof and reappeared two houses away, waving his fedora, taunting them.

“So he _wasn’t_ dumped?” Chat exclaimed, pulling out his baton, swinging it over his shoulder. Ladybug didn’t answer and took further steps further.

She’d expected the rain to come down harder, bruising her unprotected ears, or for the constant patters rain to turn up louder in her skull. Instead, it had all stopped, and Ladybug found herself in the one spot where rain no longer hit, and sounds from her safe bubble were blocked off. She watched as Chat Noir’s eyes widened in panic, and she watched as he banged his fists on the outside of her shell.

“You’ve doubt in your heart.”

Ladybug’s eyes flashed, and she was soon met face to face with Rain Man himself. His height was towering over her, and his eyes were drooping with the saddest of looks. “Thankfully, I can use that to my advantage.”

“No, you can’t!” Ladybug retorted. “I’ll admit, I _was_ doubtful, but not anymore.” She had said so with such confidence, because she really believed it was true. Instead of seeing him back down as she expected, he sighed and shook his head sorrowfully.

“You’re hopeful. But too bad. Nothing good ever happens in the rain.” His right hand in his pant pocket twitched, and she was now more aware of everything, not that the rain sound wasn’t blasting like a base. _The akuma’s in his pocket._

“Anything can happen.” Ladybug stamped her foot, shaking the circular dome that encased the two of them. “I’ll keep the hope in my heart and move forward. If you can’t then I’ll just have to make you.” She swung her yo-yo and caught his right wrist, eyes flashing with more confidence than before.

Ladybug yanked his arm out and pulled with it a single photograph of a different man, adorned in a white t-shirt and brown shorts. She ripped it in half and dropped it to the ground. However, when no akuma came flying out, Ladybug was stumped.

“That clearly wasn’t it, Lady-girl.” Rain Man sighed, yet the look in his eyes seemed to be more of a taunting kind. “Where the demon lies is somewhere you cannot reach. You cannot break what’s already been broken.”

Ladybug froze in her spot, staring at the torn up photograph. “Then… Who was-what was-” Rain Man lifted up his fedora and revealed more of his eyes, red and bloodshot with tears.

“For it to rain on a beloved’s mourning day is such a thing for the god’s to do.” Rain Man eyed the photograph. “Someone I loved. That is it. When the rain came down and ruined the only thing of him I had left, a darkness and voice overcame me and took me in. I can’t say I hate it, but I don’t like it either. I’m pretty comfortable with it, too.” He leaned in, whispering into Ladybug’s ears.

“If you just follow me and do as I say, you won’t have to live with any feelings like that, either. Embrace it. _Take it_.”

Ladybug’s earrings vibrated, and she felt as if Tikki were trying to scream, _Don’t do it! You can overcome this!_ But a new rain had showered into Ladybug’s heart. Although the previous darkness had left, new ones had come back.

Not telling Adrien that the scarf was hers and not his father’s; fearing the day he would find out and get angry at her. Telling off Chloe; fearing that she would one day get back at Marinette. The guilt of constantly putting off Alya and keeping her in the dark.

“You don’t have to worry about that if you just hand your power over to me.” Rain Man whispered, evilly smirking down at her cowering figure. His voice had become so entrancing, as if demanding her to obey him, and she couldn’t stop herself.

The bangs on the shell were unheard, as were the screams of Chat Noir, drowned out by the rain. “I…” Ladybug’s eyes closed. “I don’t want to be afraid anymore.”  
With one swift motion, Rain Man took her earrings and the shell broke, leaving a weak Marinette falling to her knees.

“ _I’ve got it_.” Rain Man’s heaving cackles were the last thing Marinette heard before she fell and rolled off the roof.

 

* * *

 

“ _What did you do to her?_ ” Chat Noir demanded, staring horrified at the crumpled figure of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, soaking up the cold rain with her hand-made clothes. “To _my_ -what did you do?”

Rain Man snorted, slipping her earrings into his pockets. “I only told her the truth. She was weak, and succumbed to the temptation. Despite her being the leader, her heart’s not very solid.”

“Don’t you say that about her.” Chat demanded, twirling his baton behind his back, walking towards the Rain Man. “I’ll knock you out and take what’s ours. I’ll do it for her.” Chat ran towards Rain Man, his heart thumping madly, but in anger rather than what he was used to when he was around Marinette and Ladybug.

Chat’s vision clouded and became dark before clearing up again, staring straight into the tiles of the roof. “ _G-guh_ …” Pain shot up from Chat’s stomach to every other nerve in his body, lingering in his fingertips. He dropped his baton and backed away, clutching his stomach. “ _Wha_ \--what did you-”

“I stabbed you.” Rain Man answered, matter-of-factly. In his hands, he held a single dagger with a familiar emblem engraved into it’s crossguard. “With a special something I got with a special someone.”

“Then… _Papillon_ met you?” Chat’s eyes widened. He struggled to stand, but the blood dripping from his wound encased his fingers. It was life-threatening, and he knew it. But he couldn’t back down now. “Why… Why would he…?”

Rain Man stuck his finger through the dagger’s ring, twirling it around his finger. “I’m special. Different from anyone else. I’d prefer not having to resort to such means, but such means were ordered from Hawkmoth. He wants you.”

Chat Noir growled, anger pooling in his stomach. But just like his blood, the anger just dripped right out onto the brown tiles and was washed away with the rain. Only sadness filled Chat’s eyes and left as warm tears. _Was this how things were going to end? Was Paris going to fall to ruin because of a stupid depressed Rain Man?_

Chat’s vision completely blacked out.

 

* * *

 

  
Marinette woke to the sharp pricks of rain drops on her eyelids. Not knowing where she was, she sat up and became painfully aware of many cuts and bruises along the left side of her body. She beat her mind until she remembered what had happened up until her miraculous fall off the house.

“I’m such an idiot.” Marinette cried, struggling to stand. Even though she knew she wasn’t there, Marinette searched through her bag a dozen times, looking for Tikki.

“Tikki?!” Marinette cried, clutching at her pigtails. With her strength, her hair ties had become loose and her hair stuck to the sides of her face with the rain. “Adrien… Adrien!”

She knew there was no way anyone was safe anymore. Hawkmoth had her Miraculous, and she had completely failed her duty as the miraculous holder. Despite knowing that, Marinette searched for her phone and dialed Adrien, only to be met with his voice mail.

“No… No!” Marinette threw her phone to the side and tried to crawl out of the alley. Her breaths became short, as if the rain itself were taking it away from her. “Chat Noir, please be safe… _please_.”

_Save me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter! Ladybug didn't give into Hawkmoth's akuma, but instead got overcome by one of the akumatized. Hahaha.....
> 
> I hope my new villain wasn't weird... I know he's weird to the entire Miraculous fandom, but I wanted to break them down somehow. 
> 
> The end is nearing! Thanks to everyone who kudo'ed, bookmarked, subscribed, and commented! It means a lot to me and I hope you'll be patient as the story comes to a close.


	9. Chapter 9

The rain had never stopped. In fact, it seemed to only get heavier and stronger to the point that not one person would walk outside, leaving them unaware of the human girl Marinette Dupain-Cheng, collapsed in the tight alley between a fabric store and vape shop.It came to a point where Marinette’s fragile skin became accustomed to the sharp pricks of raindrops and only numbed to every single feeling. The cold hard concrete under her face suddenly felt like a soft, supple pillow. If it weren’t for the remembrance of Adrien’s lips, Marinette would’ve fallen asleep right then and there.

“Adrien!” Marinette sat up immediately, the numbing feeling on her skin disappearing immediately, replaced with the raw pain that came with every single move she made. _Of course, I just fell off a roof._ She grabbed her bag to search for her phone when she remembered that she threw it off somewhere, probably beyond repair. Thankfully, when she searched on her hands and knees for it, it’s screen flashed with dozens of phone calls from Alya and Nino.

Groaning, Marinette stood up and rubbed her left arm, grimacing when she realized how ripped the sleeves of her jacket were. She held her phone to her chest and walked out of the alley, staring at the sky in disgust, anger, and resentment. “You _stupid_ Rain Man. _Stupid_ rain.” Marinette muttered, pressing the home button of her phone. It’d been three hours since she last checked, right before she left her home with Chat Noir. Hopefully her parents weren’t worried. But from the 3 missed calls from Nino and 17 missed calls from Alya, she knew that wasn’t even something worth hoping.

Marinette dialed Alya, knowing she and Nino were probably in her parent’s bakery, waiting for her to get home.

_“Marinette! Where are you? We were so worried!”_

“Alya, I’m sorry.” Marinette whispered, only then realizing how sore and broken her voice had become. She was sick, for sure. “I got-”

 _“Oh, shush. Tell me where you are and I’ll pick you up.”_ Alya interrupted, faint noises in the background that Marinette could only assume were her rushing to leave the shop.

After giving Alya simple and rather terrible directions and observations of the place she was at, Marinette waited as patiently as she could underneath the small shade of the fabric store. With every second, Marinette’s throat had gotten sorer and her injuries had become agitated with the friction between her raw skin with the wet fabric. There were even plenty of wet locks of hair stuck underneath Marinette’s chin and cheeks that she hadn’t bothered to push aside. She had to somehow find a way to save Chat Noir and get her miraculous back. She had to keep Tikki out of the hands of Hawkmoth.

“Marinette-oh, my God. Babe, what _happened_?”

Marinette’s spine tingled when she heard Alya’s voice, encased in worry. She looked up and could barely crack a smile when Alya pulled her up. Nino hurriedly peeled off his own jacket and wrapped it around Marinette’s thin frame, reassuringly rubbing her shoulders to keep her warm.

“Marinette, _babe_.” Alya sobbed, framing Marinette’s worn-out face with her hands, brushing away the hair that stuck to her cheeks. “What _happened_?”

Marinette swallowed and opened her mouth, but a wave of nausea overcame her, nearly toppling her over.

“Alya, let’s take her home first.” Nino took his girlfriend’s hand into his and rubbed her knuckles. “She can rest, and then we’ll get answers, okay?” Marinette had never seen this type of worry and concern from Nino unless it were for Adrien. And even with Adrien, Nino usually lashed out and became aggressive and strong. But now, he seemed broken and scared, something Marinette had only witnessed for the first time.

Alya clenched her jaw but otherwise nodded, covering her and Marinette with a black umbrella Marinette recognized as the one Chat had given to her just three hours ago. Nino adjusted his cap and shielded his eyes from the rain as he stood aside for the two girl to walk out.

“Just hold on to me, okay?” Alya wrapped her free hand around Marinette’s waist, muttering softly. Marinette nodded, taking heavy breaths. Her breathlessness hadn’t allowed her any ability to do much, especially as civilian-Marinette. “We’re heading home.”

Marinette’s vision started to blur again as she took three steps, one thing constantly running through her mind.

_Adrien. Adrien. Adrien. I have to find Adrien. I have to keep Paris safe._

 

* * *

 

“ _Awake now, Adrien Agreste.”_

Chat Noir’s eyes snapped open. “Marinette?” He sat up, wincing when his fresh stab wound stretched and bled more. Chat looked around, observing his surroundings. He had no idea where he was. The room was lacking in LED lights. The only little light they had was the moonlight that came from the large spherical window with butterfly wings soldered on the glass pieces with silver metal.

Countless glowing butterflies swirled around him, resting on his fist, only moving when he opened his palm, missing the feel of Marinette’s hands.

“Are you Papillon?” Chat demanded, his voice weaker than what he’d originally wanted. “Why do you want me? Why haven’t you taken my miraculous?”

A man in a completely dark purple suit turned, face impassive and rid of any emotion. From how he looked(and all the glowing butterflies), Chat Noir could only assume that Papillon himself was a kwami holder. The butterfly kwami holder, in fact. “I already have one. It won’t be hard for me to get yours.” Papillon sneered, turning his head. If he were in the perfect situation, Chat Noir would’ve made fun of the completely black lucha libre mask, but he already knew what power he had over the cat.

“Then why am I here? Why’ve you spared me?” Chat asked, feeling vulnerable, sitting on the ground, unable to defend himself if Rain Man were to appear again. “And what happened to Ladybug?”

A short laugh left Papillon’s lips as he curled his fingers in front of him, allowing a butterfly to perch on his fingers. “I would’ve taken it and left you to rot in a ditch, but your identity fascinates me.” Papillon tossed his hand aside, throwing the butterfly off his fingertips as he took steps toward Chat Noir.

Chat Noir felt a lot more like Adrien in the situation he was currently in. As Papillon walked towards him, he cast a shadow over Chat Noir’s face, preventing him from being able to clearly see Papillon’s face. “Do you know… Who I am?”

“Yes, I do.” Papillon answered, easily and swiftly. “We’re closer than you think.”

“And so what if it’s true?” Chat spat out, clenching his stomach, trying ease his pain. “So what if we know each other. You can’t be expecting me to work together with you.” Papillon chuckled, clenching his butterfly brooch.

“I don’t only expect you to do as I say. You _will_ do as I say.”

“And why is that?”

As if Papillon only wanted Chat Noir’s words to be eaten again, his transformation shed away with a pale purple light, leaving behind Gabriel Agreste. As always he was wearing his white suit and glasses. As always, he was wearing an incredibly impassive look on his face, only stern and commanding.

“I’m your father.”

Chat’s stomach lurched, his cheeks stinging with tears. “You… Why? _Why_?” As Gabriel watched him, Chat curled up into a fetal position and sobbed. What was he to do now?

 

* * *

 

_“Is my daughter okay?”_

_“Who could’ve done this to her?”_

_“I swear, if I ever figure out who-”_

_“Alya, be quiet. She needs her rest.”_

_“Oh, Marinette!”_

Marinette’s eyelids creaked open when she heard both her parents, Alya, and Nino speaking in loud whispers about her well-being and condition.

_“But did you see all those cuts on her arms and legs?”_

_“Her clothes are torn and she’s caught a bad cold.”_

_“She’s sick, too? Oh,_ baobei _...”_

Marinette leaned forward, wincing when her cuts stretched. She looked down at her clothes and saw that someone had changed her into a comfy pair of pink pajama pants and a loose-fitting t-shirt. Marinette clenched her jaw and stood up from her chaise completely, limping down the stairs on her good foot to meet with several concerned glances.

“Marinette, are you okay?” Alya rushed forward and wrapped her arm around Marinette’s waist, helping her the rest of the way down the stairs and into the comfiest part of their sofa. “Don’t you need more rest?”

Marinette shook her head slowly, blinking her tired eyes. “I can’t rest for too long. I just can’t.”

The four people around her were silent, observing each other’s facial expressions. None seemed too eager to pop the question, but Tom Dupain spoke up.

“Mari, what happened?”

Marinette refused to look into any of their eyes before she realized that doing so would bring her nowhere. “I got fell off a roof.” That was all she wanted to say. Although the four Alya, Nino, and her parents were the closest people to her, she couldn’t bring herself to tell them about everything that was going on.

“There’s no way that’s all that happened.” Nino reasoned, a suspicious eyebrow perched close to his eyelids.” Marinette took a deep breath and sighed.

“It’s not something I’m allowed to talk about.” Marinette whispered, regretfully. “I have no choice but to keep this secret. All I can tell you all is that something bad happened to Adrien and I have to help him. Chat Noir’s got a part in this, too.” When they heard this, Nino and Alya’s eyes widened like saucers, both of them immediately standing up.

“What happened to Adrien?” “Is he hurt, too?”

“I don’t know what happened.” Marinette confessed. “But I do know that someone dangerous has him right now and it’s partly my fault.” Alya stared at her best friend, unbelieving. “I have to save him. Something important was also stolen from me, and I _have_ to get it back.”

Despite all of Marinette’s pleading and eventual yelling, Alya and Nino pushed Marinette back into bed as Sabine cried in the arms of Tom. Marinette felt her heart break at her mother’s tears, which rivalled the pain in her broken ankle, but her mind kept drifting to Adrien. There was no choice for her. She had to find Papillon’s lair and save Chat Noir, along with Tikki.

Marinette glared at her ceiling, wishing it were just gone so that she could leave without anyone knowing. She wished she could just turn into Ladybug and follow Chat Noir’s scent so she could find him. That wasn’t possible, and she knew that. But all the stress had led to her getting crazy ideas.

Perhaps an hour had already passed and it became twelve o’clock on the dot. Marinette’s timer beeped and she was motivated to find Chat Noir, whether anyone liked it or not. Clenching her teeth to the pain, Marinette stood up on her bed and lifted the trapdoor over, staring into the starry night. With several grunts, Marinette almost pulled herself up when a groggy voice forced her still.

“Marinette, where are you going?”

“A-Alya,” Marinette stammered, blinking incredulously at her best friend, lifting herself up from Marinette’s chaise. “I was just-uh-”

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” Alya asked, her usual forcefulness and inquisitive behavior nowhere to be seen. Marinette didn’t say anything, but Alya shook her head sadly. “You know, it wouldn’t hurt to tell me things. I’ll support you in whatever you do. But don’t leave me in the dark.”

The desperate tone in her voice pinched Marinette in the gut. “Alya… I can’t tell you now.” Marinette lowered her eyes in shame. “But after this, I promise I’ll tell you everything. I promise. Chat’s word.” Alya gave her a closed lipped smile and waved.

“I’ll be holding that against you.” Alya warned, her playfulness slowly coming back. “I’ll cover for you, so hurry up and leave before anyone notices.”

“Thank you, Alya.” Marinette smiled, pulling her body all the way up onto her balcony.

 

* * *

 

“I don’t care.” Chat spat out, a feral snarl shaping his lips. “Whoever the heck you are, whoever the heck you _used_ to be, I won’t let you control me anymore.”

Papillon scoffed, completely unbelieving in any of Chat’s words. “I’m your father, yet you still find the courage to say such idiotic words?”

“You may be Gabriel, but you aren’t any father. I’ve made up my mind already. I’m not going to let you run over my life anymore.” Chat Noir resisted the pain from his stomach and thighs and stood up completely, looking up to his father, detesting his mocking smile.

Papillon took a step closer, glowering at Chat Noir from above. “You’ve got some nerve. You remind me of a certain someone.” Chat Noir’s heart clenched. His father had said the same things to him before they both knew who the other was. Even the way his father towered over him reminded him of the very first heartfelt hug they had in a very long time.

“You don’t seem to know enough about this certain someone.” Chat growled, jabbing Papillon right above the heart with a clawed finger. “I’m leaving _now_. I don’t ever intend on working with you.” Chat had already turned around and braced himself for the intense pain he knew would torture him until he found Marinette.

“You can’t turn away forever, _Adrien_.”

Chat turned back around and blocked himself from a jab from Papillon’s cane. The evil glint in his eyes mixed with the light of the glowing butterflies got Chat’s hair to stand on end.

Chat grabbed the end of Papillon’s staff and threw him over his shoulder, screaming when his stomach lurched. After Papillon fell to an uncoordinated mess, Chat grasped his stomach and tried his best to stop the bleeding that came with it.

“ _Shit_.” Chat took a deep breath and ran straight to the large window, feeling his blood drip between his fingers as he ran. _Hurry up, Chat. Hurry up_. When he got closer to the window, he threw all of his weight into it, crashing it and landing on the grass outside. “ _Fuck_!” Chat cried, feeling the pain in his stomach increase ten fold. But he couldn’t stay rolling in broken glass pieces for long. He had to run while he had the chance.

And without a second thought, he started looking for Marinette.

 _Marinette. Marinette. Marinette._ The name echoed and bounced around the walls of his head inconsistently, urging him forward and allowing him to endure his knife wound. As Chat scrambled away, he immediately recognized where he was. He was just behind his mansion. Which meant his own father had been acting as Papillon in his own home. The thought made him sick.

Chat’s sight wavered, even though his night vision usually worked impeccably. His blood loss was already starting to affect everything. Which basically meant that he’d have to hurry and find Marinette before he fainted and de-transformed. It was also out of the question to de-transform now. If anyone ever happened to see Adrien Agreste with a huge knife wound to the stomach, things would fall to chaos.

Since it was nearby, Chat decided to visit Marinette’s house. And thankfully, the first thing he saw was her, on her balcony, looking bothered. Walking quietly, Chat leaned against the window of her parent’s bakery, taking a break.

“Oh geez, I should’ve thought ahead.” He heard Marinette groan, annoyed. “Of _course_ I can’t do anything with a broken ankle.” Chat’s blood raced. Broken ankle? Had she hurt after Chat had fallen unconscious.

“Ugh! If only I had Tikki!”

 _Oh_. Chat wanted to slap himself. _Tikki_. That’s what he was forgetting. He felt bad for forgetting such an important friend, but he wouldn’t have been able to retrieve her and Marinette’s earrings anyways.

His ring vibrated, letting him know that Plagg was obviously frustrated and irksome. “Could you _calm down_?” Chat hissed at his ring, glancing up at the rail of Marinette’s balcony. If he was going to see her again, he was going to make it spectacular, stab wound or not.

 

* * *

 

  
Marinette had stopped whispering to herself and rested on her deck chair. Her ankle was broken, so there was absolutely no chance that she’d be able to crawl down her balcony like Ladybug usually did. She obviously couldn’t find a random yo-yo and swing off. It just wasn’t plausible.

She glared at her ankle, as if it would snap back into place. Sadly, it didn’t and Marinette shifted it into a more comfortable position. Thankfully, it was put in a makeshift splint so that it didn’t dangle around, threatening to possibly break more. Maybe she should’ve waited. Maybe a week or so. She could’ve fallen right asleep and had gotten a real cast so that it was more secure. Maybe she could’ve waited a few months for it to heal so that she could go save Chat Noir in full health.

 _No, that’s just stupid._ A groan left Marinette’s lips. She shouldn’t have been thinking of these things. What she really wanted was to leave _at that moment_ and save Chat Noir, no questions asked.

“Is he even still alright?” Marinette murmured, feeling absolutely hopeless.

_“Nothing’s impossible, my dear.”_

Marinette only scoffed. Maybe it was lack of sleep, maybe she was just crazy. But the fact that Chat’s annoyingly sultry voice could be heard in her imagination only told her how much she worried for him.

_“What's with the long face? I'm here in the flesh, baby.”_

Closing her eyes shut, Marinette twisted her lips around, contemplating the possibilities. Could Chat Noir already be _here_ , instead of wherever _Papillon_ was? Taking her chances, Marinette turned her head and found herself staring at Chat Noir, himself.

“You… You’re here.” Marinette stammered, unable to believe her eyes. “Y-you’re _really_ here!” A delightful laugh left Marinette’s lips as she stood up and limped over to Chat Noir, who was standing at the very edge of the balcony, recklessly leaning backwards with one hand on the rail.

“That’s right, _my lady_.” Chat laughed, his green eyes twinkling in the moonlight. “I came here as fast as I could.” With a grunt, Chat threw his legs over the rail and stood face to face with Marinette, who took several small steps back to see him top to bottom. Chat immediately grasped her shoulders and hugged her, clenching his teeth to the pain in his stomach. He took a deep breath and twirled her around, smiling through his pain.

“Are you alright?” Marinette asked, worry etched onto her face. “Did Papillon do anything to you?” Chat chuckled and shook his head.

“Nope. Papillon didn’t do anything to me. He has not inflicted pain on me at all whatsoever.” Chat grinned. It wasn’t a complete lie, to say the least. “But it’s not the same for you, is it?” Chat’s eyes ran over Marinette’s left foot. Thanks to his night vision, he could see it all very clearly. He then took her left hand and fingered the cuts and bruises that went along her forearm all the way to her shoulder. “Must’ve been a rough fall.”

“None of it matters now that I’ve seen you again.” Marinette laughed, taking Chat’s hand off of her arm and into hers. “Now that we’re together again, I feel like I can do anything.”

“Even though you’re not Ladybug anymore?” Chat Noir asked, seriously. Marinette shook her head mournfully.

“Even though Tikki’s not with me, the spirit of Ladybug’s not gone. We _will_ get her back and bust Papillon!”

Chat sighed, opening his mouth to speak about that particular topic. However, the moment he opened his eyes, a green light covered Marinette and he’d realized that he was already de-transforming. _Plagg, damn you._ Chat immediately covered Marinette’s eyes as he turned back into Adrien.

“Don’t look at me!” Adrien yelled, awkwardly. If Marinette were to look at him in his casual clothes, she would notice the cut in his stomach that ran four inches in with a width of one-and-a-half inches. Thankfully, Rain Man hadn’t plunged all seven inches straight into his stomach.

Marinette’s arms flailed about. “Wha-Adrien, what’s wrong?” Adrien sighed and pulled his hands away from Marinette’s face, placing them on both sides of her face. He leaned in slowly and pecked her lips once then did so again on her forehead.

“Please don’t look at me.”

Unable to control her curiosity, Marinette looked at him. As she was about to voice out her opinion that he didn’t look any different than usual, her eyes swept over the rest of his body. Gasping, Marinette clamped her hands on her mouth, almost taking a step back.

“What _happened_?” Marinette’s eyes widened, horrified. She’d seen the stab wound two inches to the right of his belly button. Although it started to scab, the undeniable gash was barely even starting to close up. “Did this happen…”

Adrien looked down guiltily. “Yes. Right after you got your miraculous taken away, I was ready to fight him myself. Or at least, I _thought_ I was. In the end, it turned out he’d hidden his knife somewhere and stabbed me. Right here.” Adrien moved his arm to lift up his shirt, only now feeling the immense pain of getting stabbed in the stomach. Or anywhere, really. If the pain was unbearable as Chat Noir, it was  _really_ and  _undeniably excruciating_. He was only glad that he was able to keep a straight face while the pain shot up from his stomach to all the other areas in his body.

After a few exhales and inhales, Adrien fully lifted up the shirt and looked away, unable to bear the look on Marinette’s face.

“I-I thought you said Papillon didn’t hurt you!” Marinette exclaimed, reaching a hand out to touch the red, swollen skin, but hesitated at the last second.

Adrien pursed his lips and turned his head back around, giving Marinette a sheepish smile. “Well, he didn’t ‘inflict pain on me’. Not directly at least.” An accusing look on Marinette’s face made him drop the bottom of his shirt and throw his hands up. “I wasn’t lying, you know!”

Marinette sighed. “I guess you _weren’t_ lying. But why didn’t you tell me in the first place?”

“I wanted our meeting to be special.” Adrien confessed, unable to hide the blush that came across his cheeks.

“Is that why you spun me around?” Marinette asked. “And why you tried to make it hard for me to see you? By switching our positions?” Her eyes softened. “I was going to figure out anyways, you know.”

“I know, I _know_. But I didn’t want you fussing over me, you know?” Adrien took Marinette’s hands into his, bringing them up to his chest. “I wanted to be the one fussing over you. So you don’t have to worry about me.” Marinette shook her head with a soft smile, lifting herself up with her good leg so that she could look into Adrien’s eyes.

“This’ll all get better, Adrien.” Marinette promised, kissing him short and sweet. “But first, there’s something we both have to do.”

“... What?”

_“Let’s tell everyone our secret.”_


	10. Chapter 10

"You... Aren't serious about this, right?" Adrien asked, hopefully. Marinette sighed, shaking her head. She gripped the two hands clasped between hers.

"I am, and you know it." 

Adrien already knew. He felt the same, of course. Adrien  _had_ wanted to, on many occasions, tell Nino who he was. But doing such a thing would bring great danger to the people close to them. Papillon already knew who Ladybug was, so why would she try and risk even further danger?

"It's so that Papillon has nothing he can use against us." Marinette explained, looking into Adrien's eyes. She saw the utter disbelief and doubt he held in his eyes, but she believed that this was the right thing to do. "If we reveal everything to these people closest to us, we may be even stronger, knowing we have them on our side." Adrien didn't speak, but breathed in the humidity of the rain. 

"If..." Adrien hesitated, staring deep into the unwavering blue eyes. "If you believe that this is the right thing to do,  _My Lady_ , then I will follow you without hesitation."

" _Let's hurry, then!"_  

Adrien looked up quickly, soon regretting his decision when his stomach seared in pain. Plagg paid that no mind and looked Marinette in the eye. "Tikki is somewhere is Papillon's lair, and we don't know what's happening to her. We have to save her." His desperate pleading hit Marinette's heart like a plane. Although the black kwami tried his hardest to be strong, there were undoubtable tears in his eyes as he worried for his partner.

"Plagg, don't worry." Marinette smiled. "Even with these injuries, we'll be able to save Tikki, I promise. After all, she's my partner, too."

Plagg sniffed, turning his eyes away to Adrien, who still stood clutching his stomach. "Fine! So hurry up and heal! We've got things to do." Adrien frowned at the kwami. How on earth was this huge gash on his stomach going to heal so quickly? Adrien wondered if changing into Chat Noir would make his healing abilities faster, but only knew that his endurance to pain was stronger as Chat Noir.

"Anyways, we can't do it now, though." Marinette smiled apologetically. "Alya's sleeping in my room, so you have nowhere to sleep. I don't know where you'll stay the night, though." Marinette pouted, pondering all the possibilities.

" _Or_ ," Adrien leaned in and wriggled his brows suggestively. "I can sleep in your bed with you, so I don't have to sleep on the balcony where anyone would see me sleeping out in the open."

Marinette rolled her eyes and pinched his nose. "I can't believe you're being so  _Chat_ in this situation, Adrien. But it's a good idea. First, I'll have to clean up your wound. If it happens to get infected while you're asleep, I'll be held accountable for not taking care of you correctly." Marinette closed her eyes and sighed. "Looks like we'll have to go inside anyways. Be careful, though. There isn't a ladder to climb." Marinette bit her lip as she struggled to land on her good foot. Adrien immediately noticed her struggle and held her by the armpits, safely lowering her on her bed.

"Thank you." 

Adrien came next. He tried his very hardest to stifle the scream that clung to his tongue as he accidentally rubbed his wound on the edge of the trapdoor. "I'm alright, Marinette. Don't worry." He assured his girlfriend, who was watching him with fearful eyes. Unable to stop herself, Marinette leaned against the wall and grabbed Adrien's legs, helping him safely stand on the bed. 

The troubles seemed to escalate, as Marinette tried to climb down the stairs. Why, oh  _why_ had she decided to have a ladder lead up to her bed, which led to her balcony? Obviously, she hadn't been thinking of the possibility that she'd get a broken leg, or that her boyfriend would get stabbed. Tears almost threatened to leave her eyes as she hopped on each individual step with her good foot. After Adrien had safely gotten down, Marinette scrambled to get her first aid kit and urged Adrien to sit down, nervously eyeing Alya, who was sleeping just six feet away from them.

"You're the one with the broken ankle,  _Princess._ " Adrien smiled kindly and pushed her down on the seat by the shoulders. "I can use both feet. It's okay for me to stand." Marinette sighed and looked at Adrien, reluctantly complying.

"Okay..." Marinette turned in her seat to open the first aid kit, soaking a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol. When she turned around, Marinette nearly shrieked when she saw that Adrien had stripped off bother of his shirts and had set it on the ground beside his feet. "Adrien, what are you doing?"

Adrien furrowed his brows. "It'd be easier to fix this up if I took off my shirt, right? I don't think it should be much of a problem." Marinette bit her lip, knowing that no matter what argument she could give him, his reasoning was correct and made perfect sense. Whispering a quiet  _okay_ , Marinette cleaned off the blood around his stab wound and threw away the blood covered cotton ball. Retrieving a new one, she heard a quiet murmuring from Adrien.

"I'm sorry you have to worry about me like this. I wanted to be the one that protected  _you_ , Marinette. I'm just kind of... Ashamed right now." Adrien had said so without looking at Marinette, focusing his vision on a colorful pen on Marinette's desk.

"Adrien, you don't have to worry about that at all. Remember, we're partners, right?" Marinette took Adrien's hand and kissed it, then resting her cheek on the inside of his warm palm. "We protect each other. There's no  _Chat Noir protects Ladybug_. We're always out to save each other, no matter what. So take the treatment I'm giving you with open arms, you silly kitty." Adrien chuckled, looking at Marinette with glittering green eyes.

"Thank you." He had said it so quietly that Marinette didn't even hear.

Marinette took a deep breath before placing he cotton ball straight on Adrien's wound, almost recoiling what Adrien unconsciously pulled away. "I-I'm sorry, Adrien, I didn't have hydrogen peroxide. If I hurt-"

"No." Adrien closed his eyes rubbed Marinette's cheek. "You're doing it right. Just keep going." Looking at Adrien for a few more seconds, Marinette continued to dab the area with the cotton ball until all she saw was raw meat. Marinette bit the inside of her cheek and looked up at Adrien.

"It doesn't look _too_ bad, right?" Adrien laughed awkwardly. Marinette shook her head, relieved. But another question arose.

"We'll need to stitch this up, though. Wrapping it won't do much, you know. But who can we go to? Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir are both missing." Marinette didn't want Adrien go to about with an open wound. She knew that he didn't want it, either. She had thread and a needle, but she worried that it wouldn't be enough.

As if reading her mind, Adrien nodded to her box of needles. "We can. If we can't get to a doctor, then we'll have to do it here." Marinette didn't know what to do in the seriousness of the situation. Adrien was telling her to suture his open wound with at-home threads and needles. She'd seen videos before, but the pain might've been something that Adrien wouldn't be able to take. "Marinette, don't worry. I trust you."

 

After thirty minutes and fifteen stitches, Marinette had finally finished stitching Adrien's wound, leaving it clean and closed. "It's finally over." Marinette leaned back in her seat and rolled to her desk. "I... I sutured your wound safely."

Adrien smiled and grabbed Marinette's hand, kissing it just as she had done to his before. "I knew you could do it. I trusted you."

Plagg was watching the two from Marinette's bed, silently rooting them on. He almost flew over to them when he heard a voice, wide awake, ask:

"So this was the secret you've been hiding from me?"

Marinette and Adrien jump, resulting in a sharp hiss from the latter when his sore injury stretched again. 

"Alya?!" Marinette exclaimed. She had been awake this whole time. "I-I-"

Alya sat up and looked at Adrien and Marinette, the look on her face unbothered. Alya settled her eyes on Adrien and grinned. "Never seen you shirtless before, but I gotta say... I  _like_ it."

"Stop it!" Marinette stood in front of Adrien, who grinned sheepishly. "Alya, I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

Alya sighed. "I was awake ever since you started cleaning him up, Marinette. Of course I was angry at first. But as time passed, and I thought about it, I realized that you had a good reason for keeping it a secret. Don't worry, Marinette. I'll take this secret to the grave." Marinette had no words to say. Alya's usually playful demeanor was nowhere to been seen, and in it's place was upmost sincerity and loyalty. 

"Thank you, Alya." Adrien said over Marinette's shoulder. "We were planning on telling the four of you tomorrow, but I guess this way is okay, too."

Alya laughed. "Doesn't matter anymore, does it? Besides, I'm sleepy. You two should go to sleep, too. You've got a bunch of things coming towards you from tomorrow on." And with those words, Alya laid back down and fell into another deep slumber. 

Adrien took a pad of gauze and held it onto his wound, wrapping sticky gauze around his waist to keep it in place. "So where am I sleeping tonight?" Adrien grinned at Marinette who only rolled her eyes. 

 

When Marinette awoke, the first thing she saw was Adrien's face. She would've screamed, but she was just too tired to do so. Instead, she admired Adrien's features. When he was asleep, he was as innocent as a baby angel, with long eyelashes brushing on his cheeks, and small breaths puffing through the space between his lips. Marinette couldn't help herself and placed a kiss on Adrien's cheek.

"Hmm?" Adrien awoke and smiled. He turned his head away from Marinette and yawned. "Good morning,  _princess_." Marinette smiled back, only staring at his face before the realized something and sat up straight.

"Adrien, you're shirtless!" Marinette gasped, looking down at the bloody pile of shirts near her bed. "And your shirts are down there. If anyone besides Alya comes in, we won't even be able to explain ourselves!"

"Don't worry about it." Alya said from the bottom. Marinette hadn't even seen her there. "Also, I already told Nino of your situation. He went back home to get a change of clothes for Adrien. We  _do_ have to be careful about Marinette's parents though. THey might start fuming when they realize there's a shirtless male model sleeping in the same bed as their daughter." Marinette groaned. She threw the blankets off herself and went down the ladder, mainly bouncing on her butt and leaning on her good foot. Quickly, she grabbed Adrien's clothes and threw them into her drawer, reminding herself to wipe down the walls of it later.

"Adrien, you have to look like you just came in!" Marinette pointed to the trapdoor. "Transform again and meet me in the front of the bakery!" Adrien didn't have any time to react when Plagg pulled his ear.

"P-Plagg, transform me!" Adrien yelled out. In a split second, he had become Chat Noir and had already gone to the roof. Alya whistled as she watched him go.

"Hey, hit the jackpot, didn't you?" Marinette blushed and shook her head, moving to leave the room. Alya chuckled and followed after her.

"Maman? Papa?" Marinette called as she walked down the stairs. Her mother was heard running from the front of the bakery towards her, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Marinette!" Marinette awkwardly hopped down the stairs on her good leg and hugged her mother.

"I'm sorry for worrying you." Marinette smiled into the hug. Her mother already let her go and was staring at her foot.

Sabine shook her head, many  _tut_ 's leaving her lips. "We have to bring you to a doctor. Let's go!" Marinette didn't have any time to react or change clothes when her mother hoisted her out of the building.

"Ah, but Chat Noir-"

_"Mrs. Cheng?"_

Sabine stopped and looked around, not knowing where the voice had come from. Finally, Sabine turned her head to the right and saw Chat Noir leaning on the building. "What are you doing here?" At that moment, Alya had left the building after hurriedly following after Sabine. "Do you need something?"

Chat Noir flicked his hair out of his face and bowed politely to the woman, leaving Marinette a spluttering mess. "It's nice to see you again." Sabine smiled. Chat Noir was a kind boy, in her opinion. Fearless and caring. "I thought I'd bring your daughter to the doctor's for you."

"But why?" Sabine questioned, her eyebrows furrowing. "Has my daughter done something?"

Chat sighed, regretfully. "I'm afraid something happened yesterday resulting in your daughter's major injury. Thankfully, I'm safe and sound. However, I wanted to pay the debt of the kindness your daughter has given me." He nearly recoiled when Sabine's eyes widened, lightning blue shocking him in place.

"Did you really?" Sabine looked at Marinette with sad eyes. "Was that why you cried for him last night? Because you were so worried?" Marinette nodded wordlessly. Then, also without words, Sabine lightly pushed her towards Chat Noir.

"I'm proud of you, Marinette. I can't wait to tell your father." Sabine smiled and went back into the building. Chat smiled at Marinette, obviously thinking,  _I did it!_ Marinette felt bad for lying to her mother, but it would all sort itself out in due time. After Marinette got on a proper cast, that is.

_"Alya! Marinette! Chat Noir?"_

Alya, Marinette, and Chat Noir all turned their heads to the right to see Nino rushing towards them with a large plastic bag filled with Nino's own clothes. "I, uh, brought clothes for, uh-" Nino kept sparing glances towards Chat Noir, obviously still unbelieving over the fact that  _his best friend was Chat Noir_. Chat Noir took the bag gratefully and grinned.

"Well, let's head to the doctor's!" Chat grabbed the three of them at once and immediately bounded upwards, heading to a nearby doctor's office. "Soon, Ladybug will be back."

"Oh, hahahaha!" Nino laughed awkwardly. "And Adrien, right? Right?"

Marinette laughed. "We'll save Tikki." Chat Noir looked at her, thankful that she was directly in his line of vision. Nino and Alya were sputtering as the wind blew on Nino's cap and Alya's hair entered her mouth. In the confusion, Chat Noir took the chance to land a kiss on Marinette's cheek. 

"We'll save  _Paris._ "


End file.
